dangler

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See also: Dangler

English

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Etymology

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From dangle +‎ -er.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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dangler (plural danglers)

  1. (now rare, archaic) One who dangles about others, especially after women.
    • 1770, Frances Burney, Journals & Letters, Penguin 2001, 10 January:
      ‘You see,’ she cried, ‘what a Herd of Danglers flutter around you […].’
    • 1783, Samuel Hoole, Aurelia; Or, the Contest:
      Such once was I, a dangler to the fair; / Still, as a glass, I praise their dress, their air []
  2. (informal) A large earring that hangs down.
    • 1985, Susi Rogol, Create a Look with Jewelry, page 22:
      Long hair piled high on top of the head or cut to a short, curvy crop, needs the balance provided by large, dramatic earrings. Those with tresses frizzed into Pre-Raphaelite waves will like the look of huge hoops or ethnic danglers in wood []
  3. (grammar, informal) A dangling participle.
    • 2014, Silvia M. Rogers, Mastering Scientific and Medical Writing: A Self-help Guide, page 43:
      Similarly, participles ending in “ing” often cause danglers in scientific writing: []
  4. (slang) A penis.
    • 1986, Tim Winton, 'That Eye, the Sky' , Penguin Books Australia Ltd 1988 edition (Chapter 6, at p.52):
      "Why do I have to feed her? Why do I have to look after her? I'm a girl. Ort doesn't have to 'cause he's a boy, 'cause he's got a dangler and I haven't."
  5. (slang, in the plural) The testicles.
    • 2000 January 18, cormaic, “Wildlife Ponds”, in uk.rec.gardening[1] (Usenet):
      Stupid kitten! First he thought he was a fish, now he thinks he's a mole. The vet says it's because he's missing one of his danglers.
  6. a plotline that is metaphorically left to "dangle" or "hang"; in other words, the plotline is forgotten, phased out and eventually dropped, and thus a resolution is never achieved

Anagrams

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