pincher en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- /ˈpɪntʃə/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- /ˈpɪnt͡ʃɚ/ (US)
Etymology
From pinch + -er.
Meanings
-
A person or thing that pinches, as in squeezing; e.g. a miser or penny pincher.
The troubles can be endless: a mix-up on meals, a shortage of liquor, engine difficulties, other mechanical quirks, male pinchers, female whiners, vomiting children, two-timing stewardesses who steal your man, and, once in awhile,^([sic]) a plane that takes a good friend to a fiery death.
1967, Trudy Baker, Rachel Jones, Donald Bain (uncredited), Coffee, Tea, or Me?: The Uninhibited Memoirs of Two Airline Stewardesses, New York: Bantam Books, page 3:
-
A person or thing that pinches, as in stealing; e.g. a thief or kleptomaniac.
“And if ever a man needed to be constantly under an eye, it's the above kleptomaniac.” “The what?” “Haven't you been told? Wilbert's a pincher. […] He pinches things. Everything that isn't nailed down is grist to his mill.”
1960, P[elham] G[renville] Wodehouse, chapter XII, in Jeeves in the Offing, London: Herbert Jenkins, →OCLC:“And they would certainly take offence, were their son to be accused of theft.” “It would stir them up like an egg whisk. I mean, however well they know that Wilbert is a pincher, they don't want to have it rubbed in.”
1960, P[elham] G[renville] Wodehouse, chapter VII, in Jeeves in the Offing, London: Herbert Jenkins, →OCLC:
-
(alt-of, dated) Dated form of pincer.
alt of pincer
- Eggcorn of pincer.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| pinchers | Number=Plur | lexicographic |