stinker meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

stinker

noun

UK /ˈstɪŋ.kə(ɹ)/ · US /ˈstɪŋ.kɚ/

Etymology From stink + -er.

11 senses

One who stinks.

Slang A contemptible person or thing.

"Stop squallin', you little stinker!" She struck the child with her open hand across the face.1925 July – 1926 May, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “(please specify the chapter number)”, in The Land of Mist (eBook no. 0601351h.html), Australia: Project Gutenberg Australia, published April 2019:
"But it's far worse for me," said Edmund, "because you'll at least have a room of your own and I shall have to share a bedroom with that record stinker, Eustace."1952, C. S. Lewis, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader:

2 more examples

Never be a stinker, because if you are, though you may flourish for a time like a green bay tree, sooner or later retribution will overtake you.1960, P[elham] G[renville] Wodehouse, chapter II, in Jeeves in the Offing, London: Herbert Jenkins, →OCLC:
When you are colonized by dangerous bacteria their presence in your body does no damage. You become a reservoir for those little stinkers.2011, Steven Z. Kussin, Doctor, Your Patient Will See You Now, page 241:

Slang Something difficult (e.g. a given puzzle) or unpleasant (e.g. negative review, nasty letter).

Today's crossword is a stinker.
I number several authors among my acquaintance […] and they invariably become all of a doodah when they read a stinker in the press about their latest effort.1960, P[elham] G[renville] Wodehouse, chapter V, in Jeeves in the Offing, London: Herbert Jenkins, →OCLC:

1 more example

I sat there seething with fury. And after I had seethed for a bit I rose from my chair, took pen in hand and wrote Bobbie a stinker. […] I accused her in set terms of giving me the heave-ho in order that she could mercenarily marry a richer man. I called her a carrot-topped Jezebel whom I was thankful to have got out of my hair. I... Oh, I can't remember what else I said but, as I say, it was a stinker.1960, P[elham] G[renville] Wodehouse, chapter X, in Jeeves in the Offing, London: Herbert Jenkins, →OCLC:

UK, Slang Something of poor quality.

The barely-released stinker Dark Tide continues Stockwell’s fetishistic pattern, coming alive whenever it’s paddling among the sharks off the South African coast and settling in for a long snooze once it gets back on the boat or reaches dry land.2002 April 19, Scott Tobias, “Dark Tide”, in AV Club:
Steven Pinker, Rational Thinker: His new book is a stinker. [title]2021 September 30, Ted McCormick, “Steven Pinker, Rational Thinker”, in Slate:

1 more example

Now it’s over, let’s come out and say it: The Rings of Power was a stinker [title]2022 October 17, Stuart Heritage, “Now it’s over, let’s come out and say it: The Rings of Power was a stinker”, in The Guardian:

Any of several species of large Antarctic petrels which feed on blubber and carrion and have an offensive odour, such as the giant fulmar.

Slang A chemist.

Australia, Slang A black eye.

Australia, Informal A western grey kangaroo.

Colloquial A giant petrel.

Colloquial An eastern long-necked turtle (which emits a foul-smelling musk when threatened).

Synonyms: stinkard, creep, rotter, scoundrel, hatchet job, nastygram, clunker
Derived terms: stinkerdom, wanker
Related terms: stink, stinker-upper