croaker

Etymology

Definitions

1. 1

   Someone who or something that makes a croaking sound.

2. 2

   Any of certain fish in the family Sciaenidae, known for the throbbing sounds they make.

3. 3

   A frog.

   • Frogs are also sensitive to vibrations through the ground, a footfall usually being sufficient to instil silence in a pond full of croakers.
4. ›+ 3 more definitionsshow fewer

   1. 4

      A doctor.

      • "Lungs," said McGuire comprehensively. "I got it. The croaker says I'll come to time for four months longer—maybe six if I hold my gait.[…]"
      • He located a doctor in Brooklyn who was a writing fool. This croaker would go three scripts a day for as high as thirty tablets a script.
   2. 5

      One who will soon die

      One who will soon die; a goner.

      • Mrs. Burke had […] bought a bottle […] to comfort him in his dying struggles (she was sure he must be a 'croaker').
   3. 6

      A vocal pessimist, grumbler, or doomsayer.

      • There are croakers in every country, always boding its ruin.
      • Nor did the croakers have long to wait. The second night after the drowning of the mate the little yacht was suddenly wracked from stem to stern.

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