litterbug

plural litterbugs · alternative litter bug · alternative litter-bug

1. informalA person who tends to drop litter and not clean it up.

   Pretending a litterbug and a spree killer have committed equivalent infractions doesn’t make people safer.

   2021 January 8, Nicole Hemmer, “The striking parallels between the assaults on Charlottesville and the Capitol”, in CNN

   2 more examples

   […] I mean I'm sittin' here, on the Group W bench, 'cause you want to know if I'm moral enough to join the army, burn women, kids, houses and villages, after being a litterbug

   1967, Arlo Guthrie, “Alice's Restaurant”

   Mr. Doherty was known to publicly berate litterbugs and upbraid motorists whose stranded cars prevented plows from clearing snow.

   2023 April 18, Sam Roberts, “John J. Doherty, Stalwart Sanitation Commissioner, Dies at 84”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, archived from the original on 26 Dec 2024

   Synonyms: litter lout