bouncer

English

Etymology

From bounce +‎ -er.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈbaʊn.sə/
• (General American) enPR: bounʹ-sər, IPA^(key): /ˈboʊn.sɚ/

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aʊnsə(ɹ)
• Hyphenation: boun‧cer

Noun

bouncer (plural bouncers)

1. (informal) A member of security personnel employed by bars, nightclubs, etc. to decide who can enter, maintain order, and deal with patrons who cause trouble.

   Synonyms: doorman, chucker-out

   • 2010, Peter Corris, Torn Apart, Allen and Unwin, page 117:

     At 199 centimetres and a hundred kilos going up, he was scary big and he found work as a bouncer and enforcer[.]

2. (cricket) A short-pitched ball that bounces up towards, or above the height of the batsman’s head.

   Synonym: bumper

3. (Internet) An account or server (as with IRC and FTP) that invisibly redirects requests to another, used for anonymity or vanity.

   Synonym: BNC

4. (dated) One who bounces; a large, heavy person who makes much noise in moving.
5. (slang, archaic) A boaster; a bully.
6. Something big; a good stout example of the kind.

   Synonym: whopper

   • 1842, Thomas De Quincey, “Modern Greece”, in Blackwood's Magazine:

     The stone must be a bouncer.

7. (slang, archaic) A bold lie.

   Synonym: whopper

   • 1877, W. S. Gilbert, “Engaged”, in Original Plays, Second Series, London: Chatto & Windus, published 1899, page 83:

     "… when he wants to accomplish his purpose, he does not hesitate to invent—I am not quite sure of the word, but I think it is “bouncers.”

8. (slang, archaic) A liar.
   • 1833, [Frederick Marryat], chapter XII, in Peter Simple. […], volume II, London: Saunders and Otley, […], published 1834, →OCLC, page 190:

     "Why, I'll tell you, Mr. Simple; he's a good tempered, kind fellow enough, but—" / "But what?" / "Such a bouncer!!" / "How do you mean? He's not a very stout man." / "Bless you, Mr. Simple, why don't you understand English. I mean that he's the greatest liar that ever walked a deck. […]"

9. A bouncy castle.
10. A kind of seat mounted in a framework in which a baby can bounce up and down.
    • 2019, Kevin Barry, Night Boat to Tangier, New York: Doubleday, →ISBN, pages 82–83:

      He shook his head and took up the child—Dilly kicked out her feet in tiny electric jolts to the full stretch of the Babygro. […] He put the child in the bouncer again.

Derived terms

• baby bouncer
• shop-bouncer

Translations

member of security personnel

• Afrikaans: portier, uitsmyter
• Basque: atezain (eu), diskotekako atezain
• Catalan: porter (ca) m
• Czech: vyhazovač (cs) m
• Danish: dørvogter c, dørmand c
• Dutch: portier (nl) m, buitenwipper (nl) m (Belgium), uitsmijter (nl) m (Netherlands)
• Esperanto: elĵetisto
• Faroese: duravørður m, duravaktari m
• Finnish: portsari (fi), poke (fi) (colloquial), ulosheittäjä, eteisvahtimestari (fi)
• French: videur (fr) m
• Galician: porteiro (gl) m
• German: Türsteher (de) m, Türsteherin (de) f, Rausschmeißer m (slang), Rausschmeißerin f
• Greek: μπράβος (el) m (brávos), πορτιέρης (el) m (portiéris), ευταξίας (el) m (eftaxías) (dated)
• Hungarian: kidobó (hu), kidobóember (hu)
• Irish: doirseoir slándála m, preabaire m
• Italian: buttafuori (it) m
• Macedonian: исфр́лувач m (isfŕluvač), вра́тар m (vrátar)
• Norman: bîndeux m (Jersey), fliantcheux hors m (Jersey)
• Polish: bramkarz (pl) m, wykidajło (pl) m
• Portuguese: leão-de-chácara m (Brazil), segurança (pt) m or f, leão de chácara (pt) m
• Romanian: portar (ro) m
• Russian: вышиба́ла (ru) m or f (vyšibála) (colloquial)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: избацивач m

  Roman: izbacivač

• Slovene: please add this translation if you can
• Spanish: portero (es) m, gorila (es) m (colloquial), puerta (es) m (Spain, colloquial), patovica (es) (Argentina, colloquial)
• Swedish: dörrvakt (sv) c, utkastare (sv) c, rockvaktmästare (sv) c
• Welsh: dryswr m, drysor m, taflwr allan m, bownser m