backscratcher en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- (US) audio
Etymology
From back + scratcher; also, by surface analysis, backscratch + -er.
Meanings
- A long slender rod with a rake-like device on one end, sometimes in the form of a human hand, designed to let a person scratch their own back.
-
(figuratively, uncommon) A participant in corruption, such as a briber or pay-to-play participant.
Pierre-Gilles had made a name for himself, but also wanted to give credit to his collaborators, whom he was always careful to cite in lectures, to the point that, for a joke, Daniel Saint-James and his colleague Gobalakichena Sarma created a "backscratchers club" named the 'Société de la brosse à reluire mutuelle' (SABRM) — mutual backscratching society — appointing Pierre-Gilles as its honorary chairman. The members of this club, which included the other musketeers, numerous physicists from Saclay, etc., were obliged to mention the other members in all their lectures, even if they hadn't contributed to the results!
2011, Laurence Plévert, “Team Leader”, in Pierre-Gilles de Gennes: A Life in Science, World Scientific, →ISBN, pages 119-120:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| backscratchers | Number=Plur | lexicographic | |
| back scratcher | alternative | lexicographic |
Coordinates
Hypernyms
Relateds
you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours · scratch someone's back · backscratching
Translations (28)
fi selänrapsutin (rod for scratching one's own back) · it manina (rod for scratching one's own back) · cmn 搔背爬 (rod for scratching one's own back) · cmn 老頭樂 /老头乐 (rod for scratching one's own back) · th ไม้เกาหลัง (rod for scratching one's own back) · tl pangamot ng likod (rod for scratching one's own back) · pt coça-costas (rod for scratching one's own back) · cy peth crafu cefn (rod for scratching one's own back) · cmn 笑刷兒 /笑刷儿 (rod for scratching one's own back) · cmn 癢癢撓 /痒痒挠 (rod for scratching one's own back) · nl ruggenkrabber (rod for scratching one's own back) · is bakklóra (rod for scratching one's own back) · la scalptōrium (rod for scratching one's own back) · nan-hbl 阿孫手 /阿孙手 (rod for scratching one's own back) · nan-hbl 孫仔手 /孙仔手 (rod for scratching one's own back) · nan-hbl 抓耙仔 (rod for scratching one's own back) · fr gratte-dos (rod for scratching one's own back) · ka ქლესა (rod for scratching one's own back) · ca grataesquena (rod for scratching one's own back) · es rascaespalda (rod for scratching one's own back) · de Rückenkratzer (rod for scratching one's own back) · es rascador de espaldas (rod for scratching one's own back) · hu hátvakaró (rod for scratching one's own back) · it grattaschiena (rod for scratching one's own back) · ko 등긁이 (rod for scratching one's own back) · ko 등긁개 (rod for scratching one's own back) · ru па́лка для чеса́ния спины́ (rod for scratching one's own back) · nan-hbl 不求人 (rod for scratching one's own back)