Typhoid Mary
/tʌɪfɔɪdˈmɛəri
/noun (plural Typhoid Marys) informal
A transmitter of undesirable opinions or attitudes: he is the Typhoid Mary of American politics...
- He takes the idea a step further with a fascinating theory about the personalities who transmit those viruses - the Typhoid Marys of social epidemics.
- Stories like that should embolden smart users so that, instead of accepting their co-workers’ incompetence, they will feel free to mock and ridicule these Typhoid Marys of the computer world.
- I think Typhoid Marys would be people who push someone to see a show by railing about how dirty/immoral/ungodly it is.
Origin
The nickname of Mary Mallon (died 1938), an Irish-born cook who transmitted typhoid fever in the US.