mess-makern.
/ˈmɛsmeɪkə/, U.S. /ˈmɛsˌmeɪkər/ A person who (or animal that) creates a dirty or untidy state; (also) a person who creates confusion or a predicament. See mess n.1 3.
ΚΠ
1865 R. Williams Lex. Cornu-Britannicum 103/1 Our boy, dirty mess-maker.
1892 Wheel & Cycling Trade Rev. 1 Jan. 594/2 The [American] West..should by this time be thoroughly tired of entrusting its political fortunes into the hands of mess-makers.
1916 Munsey's Mag. Nov. 363/1 Mr. Fixit, the matrimonial mess-maker.
1929 D. H. Lawrence Pansies 89 It is hard..to put up with the clever mess-makers.
1982 New Yorker 13 Sept. 69/1 ‘We rank with bats, starlings, and Pleistocene sloths as the great messmakers of the world,’ said Anita.
2005 D. J. Simpson et al. John Dewey & Art of Teaching iv. 49 His distinction between the problem solver and the mess maker is a critical point for the teacher to grasp.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2011; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1865