Definition
Someone who pushes someone else's buttons: someone who goads, annoys, provokes, etc.
Origins
In the provoker sense, by a metaphor in which the recipient's emotions can be manipulated on command as if prompted by literal control buttons. Thus also tangentially comparable with a puppet master who is pulling the strings to manipulate puppets.
In Context
- "Near-synonyms: gadfly, goader, provocateur, provoker"
- "When you're dealing with Tom, you need to keep in mind that he can be a button pusher sometimes. Stay cool, and don't reinforce that behavior."
Also Said As
- gadfly
- goader
- provocateur
- provoker
See Also
- buttonpusher
- button-pusher
- push-button