growler meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

growler

noun

UK /ˈɡɹaʊlə/ · US /ˈɡɹaʊlɚ/

Etymology From growl + -er. Sense "jug" is 19th century American slang, of uncertain origin.

8 senses

A person, creature or thing that growls.

Historical, Slang A horse-drawn cab with four wheels.

He had evidently studied the driver of a London growler, and produced a good sound readable type of man.1883 October 16, London Daily Telegraph:
The ordinary London growler is considerably less wide than a gentleman's brougham.1887, A. Conan Doyle, chapter 7, in A Study in Scarlet, part 2:

1 more example

Lew pulled his socks from a jacket pocket, grabbed his own shoes, and together they proceeded to the street and into a growler, and were off.2006, Thomas Pynchon, Against the Day, Vintage, published 2007, page 254:

A small iceberg or ice floe which is barely visible over the surface of the water.

A great ‘growler’ iceberg was sighted this afternoon at a distance of approximately half a mile; the size of a large London house, more or less.2002, Joseph O'Connor, Star of the Sea, Vintage, published 2003, page 152:
As the cruise ship Explorer was picking its way through the Antarctic sea ice, it hit what experts believe was a "growler" - a huge iceberg shorn from the Antarctic ice shelf.2007 November 24, Matthew Taylor, The Guardian:

Australia, Canada, US, Informal A kind of jug, often with a handle, used to carry beer and preserve carbonation.

[…] their favoring breeze has the stink of nickel whiskey on its breath, and their sea is a growler of lager and ale […]1940, Eugene O'Neill, The Iceman Cometh, act 1:
This container was a round lidded tin with a handle and was colloquially called a growler. […] to get daddy or mommy a growler of beer, which was, by the way, approximately a quart.2002, Louis M. Soletsky, 100 Years of Medicine, iUniverse, →ISBN, page 104:

Now, on first impression, a pork pie - or a ‘growler’ if you're from Yorkshire - looks like a delicious snack.2008 August 22, Christina McDermott, The Guardian:

UK, Slang The vulva.

On our first meeting he'd asked me if I dyed my hair. I told him I did and his follow up^([sic]) question had been the much under rated^([sic]), "What colour's your growler then?"2007, Cesca Martin, Agony Angel, Troubadour Publishing, pages 125–6:

US, Dialectal A fish of the perch family, abundant in North American rivers, so named from the sound it emits.

A device for checking electrical equipment for short circuits etc.

Includes voltmeters, ammeters, circuit testers, armature tester (external growler), field tester, (internal growler), coil and condenser tester, etc.1962, United States. Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training, Trade and Industry Publication (issue 3, page 32)
A Growler is one of the most versatile tools for electric motor service, whether a starter motor or a generator. The growler gets its name because of a growling noise it emits upon finding an electrical short.2013, Donny Petersen, Donny's Unauthorized Technical Guide to Harley-Davidson, 1936 to Present: