Slang

hack

This page is about the slang term hack

British English

Meaning

a newspaper reporter

For example

  • As he opened his morning newspaper, the prime minister thought, "What have those bloody hacks written about today, I wonder?"

  • England had a good football coach until British newspaper hacks wrote stories about his private life. He quit and left the country.

Note:
Most reporters regard this as an offensive term, so be careful if you use it.

Variety

This is typically used in British English but may be used in other varieties of English too.

Quick Quiz

The piece about their upcoming divorce was the work of a hack who

a. writes for The Sun

b. teaches at Oxford University

c. sits on the High Court
a) writes for The Sun b) teaches at Oxford University c) sits on the High Court

See Slang of the Day today

Contributor: Matt Errey