Gossipmongers?

Chamber English Dictionary definition:

gossip - 1. one who goes about telling and hearing news or idle scandal. 2. idle talk about others -- v.i. to listen to and repeat such talk.


I thought this was such an odd and somewhat inappropriate sign. My interpretation of the word "gossip" is much like that in the Chamber's dictionary. But then I looked up the word in Webster's dictionary. If we use that meaning, this is a very insightful and clever sign.


Webster's II New Riverside Dictionary definition:

gossip - 1. Rumor or talk of a personal or sensational nature.  2. Someone who habitually spreads sensational or intimate facts. 3. To engage in or spread gossip.
word history:  Gossip was originally a compound of god and sib, meaning "godparent." At first denoting only the relationship of godparent  to godchild, gossip was later used to indicate the relationship of godparent to parent and the relationship between the godparents of the same child. Gossip thus designated a relationship among peers as much as one between generations, and from the extended senses the meaning "friend" evolved. The derogatory use of gossip to mean a person who engages in idle chatter and rumor-spreading appeared in the 16th century, but the use of gossip to mean the conversation of gossip is not recorded until the early 18th century.