blatherskate

n

a.

a boastful or bombastic person, a 'windbag'

b.

a villainous or disreputable person

This picturesque word is the American and Australian version of the Scottish dialect word 'bletherskate'. Although it is a fairly innocuous term of mild abuse, it derives from 'blether' meaning a bladder or to blather, and 'skate', a dialect variant of shit. The image evoked is of someone who is 'full of shit'. During the War of Independence, Americans became familiar with the word from the Scottish song, Maggie Lauder.