Nimrod
Etymology
From Nimrod in Genesis, described as "a mighty hunter before the Lord," which gave the word its older sense of an expert hunter. In 20th-century American slang it reversed into "fool" or "idiot" — a shift widely (though not certainly) credited to Bugs Bunny sarcastically calling the bumbling hunter Elmer Fudd a "little Nimrod," which younger audiences took at face value. The eponym now names an inversion of meaning as much as a person.
noun · /NIM-rod/
In modern American slang, a foolish or inept person — though it once meant a skilled hunter.
What it names
A vivid case of a name whose meaning flipped, useful when the same word points two opposite ways.
Example
Some nimrod parked across three spaces in the packed lot.
Related idea
Nimrod is a contronym of sorts across eras — hunter turned fool — much as maverick drifted from a rancher’s name to a badge of independence; both show how eponyms wander from their source.
See also