sorner
Definition
Noun: - A person who lives off others by imposing on their hospitality, especially by begging for food and lodging without offering anything in return.
Usage Examples
- (A person who habitually imposes on others for sustenance.)
- (A historical term for a beggar or freeloader.)
Advanced Usage
- "to play the sorner": to act like a freeloader or sponger.
- He would often play the sorner at parties, helping himself to food and drink without contributing. (To behave as a person who takes advantage of others' generosity.)
Variants and Related Words
- Sorn (verb): to impose on someone for food or lodging; to sponge.
- He would sorn on his relatives for weeks at a time. (To live off others by begging or imposing.)
- Sorning (noun): the act of imposing on others for hospitality.
- Sorning was a common practice among vagrants in medieval Scotland. (The habit of freeloading.)
Synonyms
- Freeloader: a person who takes advantage of others' generosity without giving anything in return.
- Sponger: someone who lives off others, often by begging or imposing.
- Parasite: a person who exploits the hospitality of others for personal gain.
Related Idioms
- To live off the fat of the land: to enjoy the best of everything without working for it.
- The sorner was content to live off the fat of the land, never lifting a finger. (To take advantage of abundance without effort.)
- To eat someone's bread and salt: to accept hospitality and then abuse it.
- He ate their bread and salt but never repaid their kindness, a true sorner. (To take advantage of someone's generosity.)