heeler
nounEtymology From heel + -er.
7 senses
1
A gamecock that strikes well with its heels or spurs.
2
A quick runner.
- That a crowd of Sydney stealers, Jockeys, pugilists and spielers Brought some horses, real heelers, Came and put us through.1891, Banjo Paterson, An Evening in Dandaloo:
3
A dog that readily comes to heel.
- If your dog is a good heeler, you'll find some competition in the obedience ring.1999, Ted Baer, Communicating with Your Dog: A Humane Approach to Dog Training:
4
Australia A dog used for cattle droving.
- [A] blue roan, a kind of dog that Jennifer had never seen before. She asked Tim what it was, and he said it was a "heeler", but when she pressed him to say if that was a breed or not, he could not tell her. It was a heeler because it went for the heels of the cattle and not their heads, apparently.1952, Nevil Shute, chapter 5, in The Far Country, Melbourne: Heinemann:
5
Government, Politics US, Dated, Slang A dependent and subservient hanger-on of a political patron.
- The army of hungry heelers who do their bidding.1886, Theodore Roosevelt, “Machine Politics”, in The Century:
6
The rodeo performer who ropes the steer by its hind feet after the header has turned it.
7
US A student journalist at Yale University.
- Derived terms
- blue heeler, Lancashire Heeler, ward heeler