WWWW!
(Word for Word's Word of the Week)

Pronunciation: nah-bêl

Verb meaning: 1. To tamper with a racehorse by drugging or otherwise disabling it. 2.To win someone over by devious means; even to kidnap, literally or figuratively, as to nobble a good manager from the competition. 3. To steal, snitch, rip off.

Someone who wins anything by underhanded means would be a nobbler, the noun form of this week's word.

Etymology: The origins of this week's word are officially unknown. It's close enough to hobble to suspect its influence. However, the suffix -ble was at one time a common verb suffix, which would lead us to look for a noun that this word might come from. One suspect would be "nob", which has long been a slang term for the head and the origin of the boxing slang verb to nob, which means to strike on the head.

Thought: Those who nobble are not noble.

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