Phrase guide

scissor statement

noun · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

noun

Meaning 1

A polarising and incendiary topic, opinion or phrase.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: Internet

Examples

  • The Ground Zero mosque was a scissor statement that divided Americans.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Coined by American psychiatrist and blogger Scott Alexander Siskind (writing as "Scott Alexander") in his 2018 short story “Sort By Controversial”, where he wrote: “In some dead language, scissor shares a root with schism. A scissor is a schism-er, a schism-creator.”