A.Word.A.Day
with Anu Gargbunny boiler
PRONUNCIATION:
(BUH-nee boy-luhr)
MEANING:
noun: A person who is dangerously obsessive and vengeful, especially when spurned.
ETYMOLOGY:
After a character in the 1987 film Fatal Attraction who boils a pet
rabbit belonging to the family of a married man who has an affair with
her but then spurns her. Earliest documented use: 1990.
NOTES:
As the playwright William Congreve said in 1697: "Heaven has no
rage like love to hatred turned, nor hell a fury like a woman scorned."
In Fatal Attraction, that fury came with a pot of boiling water.
While the term is vivid shorthand for obsessive behavior, it often reflects a double standard: strong emotional reactions in women are pathologized, while similar behavior in men may be cast as tragic or intense.
While the term is vivid shorthand for obsessive behavior, it often reflects a double standard: strong emotional reactions in women are pathologized, while similar behavior in men may be cast as tragic or intense.
USAGE:
"Heigl plays Tessa, a Malibu supermom who turns bunny boiler after her
stubble-bearded hubby David (Geoff Stults), a Wall Street hotshot
turned California microbrewer, dumps her for his new lover Julia."
Peter Howell; This Revenge Thriller Is Easily Forgettable; Toronto Star (Canada); Apr 21, 2017.
Peter Howell; This Revenge Thriller Is Easily Forgettable; Toronto Star (Canada); Apr 21, 2017.
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