igmo

igmo pronunciation

/IG-moh/

Meaning

An igmo is a person doing something dumb, careless, or clueless. It is kid-and-cousin talk more than courtroom talk: sharp enough to sting, soft enough that mama might say it too. Folks treat it as a clipped, country take on ignoramus, sometimes stretched out as igmoramus when they really lean into it.

How folks use it

• “Don't be an igmo. Put the lid back on that paint can.”
• “He's fishing for trout with stink bait. What an igmo.”

Origin and etymology

Southern and Ozark oral slang, recorded in Arkansas word lists as a kids' word for an ignoramus. Likely a cut-down of ignoramus, though some speakers hear it as ignorant mashed with moron. Either way, it grew in rural talk where short insults travel farther than long Latin ones.

Frequently asked questions