Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun One who heckles or uses a heckle.
  • noun One who severely questions and cross-questions another; specifically, one who severely questions a candidate for the purpose of finding some weak point in his political creed or professions, or of bringing out his actual opinions or position.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun Agent noun of heckle; one who heckles; somebody who insults, makes fun of, or teases.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun someone who tries to embarrass you with gibes and questions and objections

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

The word "heckler" is derived from the name given to Scottish textile workers who combed flax for processing. As they began to unionize in the early 19th century, the militant hecklers would intterupt the morning news reading by their co-workers. The word became associated with individuals who would shout out questions or insults to reveal truths that the person giving information would otherwise try to conceal or avoid.

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