Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

typhoid mary

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.93 in modern English

Syllables: ty-phoid -mary
IPA

25

Scrabble Score

11

Letters

3

Syllables

10

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A person who carries and spreads a dangerous disease, especially one who refuses to cooperate to minimize the risk of infection.

Example Sentences

"“[…] Do you know what our great fear has been? That either the grayboys or the Ripley would find a Typhoid Mary, someone who could carry it and spread it without catching it him- or herself.”"
"As far as I can tell, Montezuma must have been some sort of Typhoid Mary. Even today, visitors to Mexico speak of catching a terrible affliction known as “Montezuma’s revenge,” which apparently causes violent, unrelenting bowel movements."
"And it was a Google executive – Sheryl Sandberg – who played the role of Typhoid Mary, bringing surveillance capitalism from Google to Facebook, when she signed on as Mark Zuckerberg’s number two in 2008."

Etymology

Based on Mary Mallon (1869–1938), a notorious asymptomatic carrier of typhoid who refused to cooperate with the authorities about her condition until they resorted to forcible confinement.

Inflected Forms

Typhoid Marys (plural)

Questions

What does typhoid mary mean?: A person who carries and spreads a dangerous disease, especially one who refuses to cooperate to minimize the risk of infection.
Where does typhoid mary come from?: Based on Mary Mallon (1869–1938), a notorious asymptomatic carrier of typhoid who refused to cooperate with the authorities about her condition until they resorted to forcible confinement.

How to pronounce typhoid mary

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