Word of the day: quidnunc.

I get a Word of the Day by email, and I've only been surprised once or twice. This one surprised me. The irony is, of course, delicious.

quidnunc \KWID-nuhngk\, noun:
One who is curious to know everything that passes; one who knows or pretends to know all that is going on; a gossip; a busybody.

What a treasure-trove to these venerable quidnuncs, could they have guessed the secret which Hepzibah and Clifford were carrying along with them!
--Nathaniel Hawthorne, The House of the Seven Gables

Some wretched intrigue which had puzzled two generations of quidnuncs.
--L. Stephen, Hours in Library

From Latin quid nunc? "what now?" I don't like Latin because it's a dead language and nobody speaks it except for snooty guys like priests and doctors. Actually, it's a zombie language, because it just won't stay dead. Quod erat demonstrandum.