Etymology From Middle English berkere; equivalent to bark (“dog noise”) + -er.
1
Someone or something who barks.
My neighbor's dog is a constant barker that keeps me awake at night.
Edmund was barker on sight, like foolish stay-at-home dogs.1938, Norman Lindsay, Age of Consent, 1st Australian edition, Sydney, N.S.W.: Ure Smith, published 1962, →OCLC, page 42:
2
A person employed to solicit customers by calling out to passersby, e.g. at a carnival.
Bob had amassed a considerable stockpile of double entendres from his days working as a barker for a strip joint.
[…1893, James Otis, The Adventures of a Country Boy at a Country Fair:
2 more examples
'I'll be your "barker" - the girl outside who gets the suckers in. Dear Mister Bond,' she reached over and pressed his hand, 'will you settle down with me and grow old gracefully in St Petersburg?'1954, Ian Fleming, “The Everglades”, in Live and Let Die, London: Pan Books, published 1957, page 121:
For every dedicated scientist patiently recording atmospheric pressure and wind speed while shivering at high altitudes, there is a carnival barker with a bevy of pretty girls willing to dangle from a basket or parachute down to earth.2013 June 7, David Simpson, “Fantasy of navigation”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 188, number 26, page 36:
3
A shelf-talker.
4
Video games A video game mode where the action is demonstrated to entice someone to play the game.
The barker looks action-packed, but actually playing the game is rather dull.
Barney, opening a cupboard, brought forth several articles, which he hastily crammed into the pockets. “Barkers for me, Barney," said Toby Crackit. “Here they are,” replied Barney, producing a pair of pistols.1838, Boz [pseudonym; Charles Dickens], Oliver Twist; […], volume (please specify |volume=I, II, or III), London: Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC:
Parkin, the Oxford Street gunmaker, sent me a brace of barkers in silver mountings, with my initials engraved—good for trade, I imagine.1969, George MacDonald Fraser, Flashman, page 45: