thumper

See also: Thumper

English

Etymology

From thump +‎ -er.

Pronunciation

• Audio (General Australian):

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• Rhymes: -ʌmpə(ɹ)

Noun

thumper (countable and uncountable, plural thumpers)

1. One who thumps.
2. (slang) A single-cylinder engine, especially four-stroke engines or those with large engine displacements.
3. (uncountable) A drinking game wherein players must remember personal hand signs while being distracted by others banging on a table.
4. (slang) Something big, such as a lie; a whopper.
5. (UK, rail transport, slang) A kind of slam-door train introduced in the late 1950s.
6. (US, military, slang) The Vietnam-era M79 grenade launcher (due to its distinctive report).
7. (Antarctica) A short rope for beating disobedient sled dogs.
   • 2024, Lewis Juckes, Antarctic Basalt, page 414:

     This [argument] was about the use of the thumper to control dog teams, and perhaps the unique living conditions of a polar base caused both sides to shift from an initial disagreement to positions more extreme than the ones they would have reached in the wider world outside.

8. (informal) A strong adherent to a religion or ideology.
   • 1984, Anthony West, H.G. Wells: Aspects of a Life‎^[1], London: Hutchinson, →ISBN, →OL, page 126:

     But in spite of the antics of its Bible thumpers and its boobocracy, my father was unable to stay mad at the United States for long.

Derived terms

• Bible thumper
• Koran thumper
• mutton-thumper