corker
noun/kɔː.kə(ɹ)/ · /koɹ.kəɹ/
Etymology From cork + -er.
1
One who puts corks into bottles.
- Yes it is, Frank. Don't you see? Laertes is to take the best of care of his friends—his proved friends, on the same principle that a wine-corker takes the best of care of his proved bottles.1857, Herman Melville, chapter 30, in The Confidence-Man:
2
Informal A person or thing that is exceptional or remarkable.
- Well, a body is bound to admit that for just a modest little one-line ad., it's a corker.1889, Mark Twain, chapter XVI, in A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, page 124:
- "As a matter of fact," explained the young man, "the present tenant is under our notice to leave." "Unsatisfactory, eh?" said Carrados encouragingly. "He's a corker," admitted the clerk, responding to the friendly tone. "Fifteen months and not a doit of rent have we had. That's why I should have liked——"1914, Ernest Bramah, Max Carrados:
1 more example
- He had just had an absolute corker of an idea!2012, Mark Griffiths, Space Lizards Ate My Sister!: