toad-strangler

English

Pronunciation

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Noun

toad-strangler (plural toad-stranglers)

1. (US, dialectal) A very heavy downpour of rain.
   • 1940, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, When the whippoorwill:

     "I mean, hit's a toad-strangler of a rain," he proffered. "I mean!" she agreed. "Reckon your daddy'll keer, me a-follerin' this-a-way?" "Reckon he mought."

   • 1943, James Hilton, The story of Dr. Wassell:

     It's not what I'd call a sprinkle, and it's not a chip washer or a gully washer — it's a real regular toad-strangler, and I've seen 'em like this in Arkansas when it turns all the roads into black gumbo.

   • 1998, Sheldon Russell, The Savage Trail:

     It rained in memory of Noah, a toad-strangler that threatened to wash them all into a gully that foamed and churned with red water

Synonyms

• gully-washer, cob-floater, duck-drownder (duck-drowner), frog-strangler, goose drownder (goose-drowner), lightwood-knot floater, sod-soaker, trash-mover, sheep drowner