mossback
Stubborn old traditionalist
A mossback is someone with old-fashioned or extremely conservative views—the image being of a creature so sluggish and stationary that moss grows on its back.
The term is mildly disparaging: Those mossbacks on the city council will never approve the new zoning.
Originally American, it sometimes referred to old turtles or fish, and during the Civil War, to men who hid in swamps to avoid conscription.
Anti-progress political stance
- traditionalistAdherent to established customs
- old-schoolAdhering to past methods
- diehardStubbornly committed supporter
- hardlinerStrict policy advocate
right-wing · orthodox · conformist · purist · fundamentalist · dogmatic · retrograde · provincial
Old and outdated
- old-fashionedBelonging to earlier times
- archaicBelonging to earlier times
- obsoleteNo longer in use
- bygoneOf earlier times
anachronistic · dated · outmoded · behind-the-times · relic · fossil · dinosaur · vestige
Firmly refusing to yield
- unyieldingRefusing to give way
- inflexibleUnable to bend
- intransigentRefusing to compromise
- immovableIncapable of being shifted
unbending · entrenched · rigid · adamant · bullheaded · mulish · pigheaded · obdurate
Fierce aquatic chelonian
- shellHard outer covering
- carapaceProtective dorsal exoskeleton
- baskingWarming oneself pleasantly
- slow-movingProgressing at low speed
freshwater · aged · weathered · ancient
reactionary
Anti-progress political stance
- traditionalistAdherent to established customs
- old-schoolAdhering to past methods
- diehardStubbornly committed supporter
hardliner · right-wing · orthodox · conformist · purist · fundamentalist · dogmatic · retrograde · provincial · nostalgic
antiquated
Old and outdated
- old-fashionedBelonging to earlier times
- archaicBelonging to earlier times
- obsoleteNo longer in use
bygone · anachronistic · dated · outmoded · behind-the-times · relic · fossil · dinosaur · vestige · quaint
obstinate
Firmly refusing to yield
- unyieldingRefusing to give way
- inflexibleUnable to bend
- intransigentRefusing to compromise
immovable · unbending · entrenched · rigid · adamant · bullheaded · mulish · pigheaded · obdurate · dogged
snapping-turtle
Fierce aquatic chelonian
slow-moving · freshwater · aged · weathered · ancient
- curmudgeonscurmudgeon, grouch, grump, crank, sourpuss
mossbackprogressive
Favoring reform and innovation
liberal · radical · leftist · reformer · revolutionary
mossbackmodernist
Advocate of experimental forms
progressive · innovator · trendsetter · futurist · trailblazer