knuckle dragger

See also: knuckledragger and knuckle-dragger

English

Etymology

An allusion to the practice of some large primates of walking upright with their knuckles close to the ground.

Pronunciation

• Audio (AU)

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Noun

knuckle dragger (plural knuckle draggers)

1. (idiomatic, often derogatory) A large, strong, and rather dimwitted person.
   • 2008 December 21, Pat Hickey, “Prepare the Pulitzer”, in Chicago Daily Observer, retrieved 5 Jan. 2009:

     Mickey was wide receiver on the St. Rita Football Team in 2007—a big strapping, robust south side knuckle dragger and chick magnet.

   • 2017, A.K. Brown, Humans on the Menu (Champagne Universe Series: Book 2), page 35:

     The scientists were frustrated by the constant need to have knuckle draggers following them like mother hens.

Synonyms

• Neanderthal

Further reading

• “knuckle dragger”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
• knuckle dragger, knuckle-dragger, knuckledragger at Google Ngram Viewer