Morphodite

About Morphodite

Morphodite is a comic pronunciation, considered offensive, of the word hermaphrodite. It was used most notably in the book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, when Miss Maudie refers to the snowman Jem and Scout built. To disguise the snowman's obvious and unfortunate resemblance to Mr. Avery, the children borrow Miss Maudie's hat and hedge-clippers. The attempts to feminize the caricature fall short and Miss Maudie describes their creation as "an absolute morphodite."

The word is used as an insult in the Stephen King short story, "The Body" and was also used on a 2006 episode of Spike TV's "Disorderly Conduct" in a string of insults hurled at a police officer arresting a very, very drunk man.

It was used again in the 1986 film Stand By Me, with Teddy saying "Gordie, go get the provisions you Morphodite!"