pelicanist

P3E1L1I1C3A1N1I1S1T1

noun

Someone who attempts to explain away UFO reports by means of any explanation, however illogical.

Scrabble 14

Meanings

nounpelicanist (plural pelicanists)

plural pelicanists

  1. derogatoryhuman sciencesSomeone who attempts to explain away UFO reports by means of any explanation, however illogical.

    As opposed to... Skepticism of the pelicanist flavor perhaps ?

    2009 November 29, “Tom Booth” (username), “For Serena,”, in alt.fan.landmark, Usenet
    2 more examples

    Kottmeyer and others who use the psychosocial hypothesis constantly produce evidence to support their ideas, whereas the ETH proponents can produce only cranky ideas about magnetic, anti-gravity or interdimensional saucers, accompanied by a constant whining about "sceptics" and "debunkers" (not to mention "armchair ufologists" and "pelicanists").

    2000 November 22, “Blue Resonant Human” (username), “::: Should Saucers Spin? :::”, in alt.alien.research, Usenet

    Meanwhile, those of us who’ve experienced UFOs in various ways are called mentally ill, intellectually challenged, spiritually needy, liars, drunks, drug users, attention getters, drama queens, and more. Those all are worse than being called a thug, skeptibunkie, or Pelicanist. (Pelicanist is a term coined by UFO researcher Jerome Clark.)

    2006 September 12, “LordOfThyNight” (username), “The Usual Purple Tinged Hyperbole About UFOs”, in The Paranormal & Ghost Society, Usenet

Synonyms & antonyms

Origin

From pelican + -ist. Coined by Jerome Clark in reference to claims that Kenneth Arnold's UFO sighting in 1947 was pelicans.

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

pelicanist. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pelicanist

MLA

“pelicanist.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pelicanist. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “pelicanist,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pelicanist.

Source: pelicanist on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.