nobble

English

WOTD – 29 December 2012, 29 December 2014

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈnɒbl̩/

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɒbəl
• Homophone: knobble

Verb

nobble (third-person singular simple present nobbles, present participle nobbling, simple past and past participle nobbled) (transitive)

1. (British, Australia, slang) To injure or obstruct intentionally.
   • 2000 March 12, Stuart Barnes, “Swindon stunner for Curbishley”, in The Guardian‎^[1], →ISSN:

     After 12 successive league wins […] Charlton were nobbled by the First Division's no-hopers, who profited from a goalkeeping bloomer then held on to their lead for dear life.

   • 2011 October 22, Terry Ryder, “Affordable-housing lobby out to nobble investments”, in The Australian‎^[2]:

     Their core belief, unsupported by evidence or logic, is that homes are unaffordable because investors drive up prices. […] Australians for Affordable Housing appears to think that nobbling investors will strike a telling blow for first-time buyers: remove negative gearing and increase capital gains tax, and homes will be affordable.

   • 2012 January 11, Gavin Clarke, “Google attacks Twitter's search bias claim”, in The Register‎^[3]:

     Google has come out fighting after Twitter claimed that changes to its search engine nobble results to favour Google+, damaging the internet.

   • 2012 September 9, “3D printing: Difference Engine: The PC all over again”, in The Economist‎^[4]:

     His main fear is that the fledgling technology could have its wings clipped by traditional manufacturers, who will doubtless view it as a threat to their livelihoods, and do all in their powers to nobble it.

2. (British, slang) To gain influence over by corrupt means or intimidation.

   The jury was nobbled to delay unanimous verdict.

   • 2000, Italo Pardo, Morals of Legitimacy: Between Agency and System, page 122:

     Unlike "noble" vigilantes, the police and court facilities which exist are said to be inefficient and corrupt, and juries are said to be easily "nobbled" or intimidated.

   • 2002, Kevin Jefferys, Labour Forces: From Ernie Bevin to Gordon Brown, page 107:

     For example jury trials were reformed to allow majority verdicts, so that criminals could less easily nobble them.

   • 2012, Mark Hagger, William: King and Conqueror, page 75:

     Here, though, Picot's overbearing power, and the fact that the bishop was an absentee, meant that the sheriff could use threats to "nobble" the judges.

3. (British, slang) To steal.
4. (transitive, slang) To tamper with (typically a racehorse or greyhound) in order to prevent it from winning a race.

   Synonym: cooper

   • 1864, Baily's Magazine of Sports & Pastimes, volume 8, page 110:

     Every design that villainy could suggest was had recourse to in the hopes of nobbling Wild Dayrell; but never being left for an hour by either his trainer or jockey, he escaped the intended 'coopering', even when the lynchpins of the wheels of his van had been tampered with.

Usage notes

The first meaning is employed mainly in sporting contexts, especially in horse racing. The second is used in judicial contexts, applied often to courts, juries and other judicial bodies.

Derived terms

• nobbler

Translations

to injure or obstruct intentionally

• Czech: ochromit (cs) pf, zneškodnit (cs) pf

to gain influence by corrupt means or intimidation

• Czech: podmáznout pf, podplatit pf

Noun

nobble (plural nobbles)

1. (UK, slang) A deliberate act of injury or obstruction.

Further reading

• Jonathon Green (2024) “nobble v.¹”, in Green’s Dictionary of Slang
• Jonathon Green (2024) “nobble v.²”, in Green’s Dictionary of Slang