Meanings
plural fiskings
- A rebuttal to an article or blog made by quoting its content in sections and refuting each section individually.
By 2004 the word fisking had broken its tether from the topic of war and was being used to mean any detailed analysis of another's speech and writing.
2004, Barbara O'Brien, Blogging America: Political Discourse in a Digital Nation, page 441 more example
As Linda Seebach put it, fisking is "line by line exegesis of idiocy," named after "journalist Robert Fisk, who often deserves it." Fisking is now a widely practiced technique.
2006, Peter Wood, A Bee in the Mouth: Anger in America Now, page 246
- gerundparticiplepresentpresent participle and gerund of fisk
Origin
Named after English writer and journalist Robert Fisk (1946–2020). For the surname, see Fisk. Originated in the blogosphere.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
fisking. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fisking
“fisking.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fisking. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “fisking,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fisking.
Source: fisking on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.