scorcher

English

Etymology

scorch +‎ -er

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈskɔː.t͡ʃə(ɹ)/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈskɔɹ.t͡ʃɚ/

  • Audio (US)

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• Rhymes: -ɔː(ɹ)t͡ʃə(ɹ)

Noun

scorcher (plural scorchers)

1. (literally) One who, or that which, scorches.

   Synonym: sizzler

2. (colloquial) A very hot day.

   Synonym: sizzler

   Tomorrow will be a scorcher, so carry water and use sunscreen if you're going out.

3. (soccer) A very good goal, notably made with a very hard shot.

   What a scorcher! See the net reverberate!

4. (colloquial) A caustic rebuke or criticism.
5. (colloquial, dated) A bad person.
   • 1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887, →OCLC:

     `Yes, sir - of course, sir, that's just what he said they was - 'cautions, downright scorchers' - sir, and I'm sure I don't doubt it, seeing what I know of them, and their hot-potting ways,' went on Job sadly.

6. (colloquial, dated) One who rides a bicycle furiously on a public highway.

See also

• back of the net
• wondergoal

References

• Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary, Springfield, Massachusetts, G.&C. Merriam Co., 1967