wobbler
English
Etymology
Pronunciation
Audio (General Australian): (file)
Noun
wobbler (plural wobblers)
- One who or that which wobbles.
- A person who is undecided, and might go to either side.
- 2005, Alfred H. Burne, The Battlefields of England:
- Towns fell to him like so many houses of cards; and the fall of each town represented not only an accession to the prestige of the Royalist commander but a physical accession of strength as the wobblers flocked to the successful army.
- (curling) A stone that rocks from side to side as it travels because it is not resting on its running surface.
- (colloquial, law) A case that could go either way depending on factors that cannot be controlled.
- (colloquial, law) A class of crime that can be charged as a lower penalty or a higher penalty, e.g. a crime punishable as either a misdemeanor or a felony at the discretion of the prosecutor.
- (fishing) A fishing lure made to resemble a prey fish and that wobbles in the water; plug, minnow.
- (slang, UK, Ireland, Commonwealth) A sudden unexpected outburst of anger or rage; a tantrum.
- Synonym: wobbly
- (slang, British, Ireland, Islam, derogatory) a Salafi.
- (retail, advertising) A small publicity notice which appears to float at eye level, being attached to a fixture by a flexible arm.
- Hyponym: shelf stopper
- 1958 May 19, “Irish offers sales kit”, in Billboard, page 18:
- A wire "Wobbler" holds a card for counter display
- 2006 February 28, “Recycling message hits supermarket shelves in Bristol”, in LetsRecycle.com:
- Yesterday saw the launch of the initiative, which will use advertising “shelf wobblers” that usually publicise special offers to encourage Bristol shoppers to bring back their plastic bottles for recycling.
- The end of the roll in a roller mill for shaping steel.
- A boiled leg of mutton.
Synonyms
- (sudden outburst of anger): see Thesaurus:tantrum
Derived terms
Translations
stone that rocks from side to side as it travels because it is not resting on its running surface
fishing lure made to resemble a prey fish and that wobbles in the water
tantrum — see tantrum