stinker

Etymology

Definitions

1. 1

   One who stinks.

   • Skunks are the worst stinkers in the animal kingdom.
2. 2

   A contemptible person or thing.

   • "Stop squallin', you little stinker!" She struck the child with her open hand across the face.
   • "But it's far worse for me," said Edmund, "because you'll at least have a room of your own and I shall have to share a bedroom with that record stinker, Eustace."
   • Never be a stinker, because if you are, though you may flourish for a time like a green bay tree, sooner or later retribution will overtake you.
3. 3

   Something difficult (e.g. a given puzzle) or unpleasant (e.g. negative review, nasty…

   Something difficult (e.g. a given puzzle) or unpleasant (e.g. negative review, nasty letter).

   • Today's crossword is a stinker.
   • I number several authors among my acquaintance […] and they invariably become all of a doodah when they read a stinker in the press about their latest effort.
4. ›+ 8 more definitionsshow fewer

   1. 4

      Something of poor quality.

      • Steven Pinker, Rational Thinker: His new book is a stinker. [title]
      • Now it’s over, let’s come out and say it: The Rings of Power was a stinker [title]
   2. 5

      Any of several species of large Antarctic petrels which feed on blubber and carrion and…

      Any of several species of large Antarctic petrels which feed on blubber and carrion and have an offensive odour, such as the giant fulmar.

   3. 6

      A chemist.

   4. 7

      A hot day.

   5. 8

      A black eye.

   6. 9

      A western grey kangaroo.

   7. 10

      A giant petrel.

   8. 11

      An eastern long-necked turtle (which emits a foul-smelling musk when threatened).

The neighborhood

• synonymstinkarda person who stinks
• neighborstink
• neighborstinker-upper