thumper

From thump +‎ -er.

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈθʌmpə/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈθʌmpɚ/

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ʌmpə(ɹ)

thumper (countable and uncountable, plural thumpers)

1. One who thumps.
2. (slang) A single-cylinder engine, especially four-stroke engines or those with large engine displacements.
3. (uncountable) A drinking game wherein players must remember personal hand signs while being distracted by others banging on a table.
4. (slang) Something big, such as a lie; a whopper.
5. (UK, rail transport, slang) A kind of slam-door train introduced in the late 1950s.
6. (US, military, slang) The Vietnam-era M79 grenade launcher (due to its distinctive report).
7. (Antarctica) A short rope for beating disobedient sled dogs.
   • 2024, Lewis Juckes, Antarctic Basalt, page 414:

     This [argument] was about the use of the thumper to control dog teams, and perhaps the unique living conditions of a polar base caused both sides to shift from an initial disagreement to positions more extreme than the ones they would have reached in the wider world outside.

8. (informal) A strong adherent to a religion or ideology.
   • 1984, Anthony West, H.G. Wells: Aspects of a Life‎^[1], London: Hutchinson, →ISBN, →OL, page 126:

     But in spite of the antics of its Bible thumpers and its boobocracy, my father was unable to stay mad at the United States for long.

   • 2012 February 29, Phil Black, “Putin vies for leadership of a changed Russia”, in CNN‎^[2]:

     Putin’s closest electoral competitor is the Communist leader Gennady Zyuganov – a serial election loser. This would be his fourth defeat. Two other candidates, right-wing table thumper Vladimir Zhirinovsky and left-leaning Sergey Mironov have also run and lost spectacularly in the past.

   • 2023 April 5, Mark Hay, “Does Testosterone Affect Your Politics?”, in VICE‎^[3]:

     These testosterone thumpers have repackaged and exaggerated the study, with a credulity born of zealotry, into articles with shitposty titles like “Trust The Science: Study Links Left-Wing Politics to Lower Testosterone,” casting it as hard proof of their hormonal theories of healthy politics.