thagomizer

English

WOTD – 23 May 2012

thagomizer

The Far Side comic (1982 May 28) which coined the term.

Alternative forms

• thagomiser

Etymology

Coined by cartoonist Gary Larson in 1982. His comic strip (image on the right) shows a caveman giving a lecture illustrating this part of a dinosaur, with the caption "Now this end is called the thagomizer... after the late Thag Simmons". See -ize, -er.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈθæɡ.ə.maɪ.zəɹ/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Noun

thagomizer (plural thagomizers)

1. An arrangement of spikes found on the tails of various stegosaurs.
   • 2001, Thomas R. Holtz with Terry Riley, The Little Giant Book of Dinosaurs, page 54:

     Like the thagomizer of the stegosaur, the ankylosaurid tail club was probably used to smash into attackers.

   • 2008 August 1, Gary Jeffrey, Stegosaurus: The Plated Dinosaur, Rosen Publishing Group, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, →OL, page 30:

     An Allosaurus backbone had a hole in which a Stegosaurus thagomizer fitted perfectly. Over the years, many of the fossil thagomizers that have been dug up have had broken tips.

   • 2008 September 17, L. E. Simmons, The Lady of Gold (SnapDragon Adventures 1), 1st edition, Lulu.com, →ISBN, →LCCN, page 135:

     "Not like that," Snap growled, raising her four fists, swishing her thagomizer around threateningly.

Quotations

For more quotations using this term, see Citations:thagomizer.

Translations

arrangement of four to ten spikes on Stegosaurus tail