wobblern.
/ˈwɒbl̩ə/, /ˈwɒblə/, U.S. /ˈwɑb(ə)lər/ 1. As the second element in compounds. A person who or thing which wobbles the thing specified by the first element, or causes it to wobble (in various senses of the verb).Recorded earliest in pot-wobbler n.
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a1712 W. King Ess. Civil Govt. (1776) 39 In some petty boroughs indeed an inhabitant paying scot and lot, a pot wabbler as they deridingly call him, is entitled to a vote.
1785 F. Grose Classical Dict. Vulgar Tongue Wobble, to boil, pot wobbler, one who boils a pot.
1936 Titusville (Pa.) Herald 3 Jan. 4/3 The head wobbler or head banger is very much the same kind of a baby.
2002 Guardian 25 June i. 14/6 The feeling that Orbital were holding back..was dispelled by XXX, a trouser-wobbler of a tune.
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society > armed hostility > warrior > soldier > soldier by branch of army > [noun] > foot-soldier
footmanc1325
page?a1400
pieton?1473
foot soldier1587
rondache1607
peon1609
tolpatch1705
foot wobbler1785
wobbler1785
doughboy1835
fantassin1835
mud-crusher1864
web foot1866
grabby1868
infantryman1883
flat-foot1889
gravel-crusher1889
foot-slogger1894
PBI1916
mud-slogger1936
infanteer1944
leg1969
1785 F. Grose Classical Dict. Vulgar Tongue Wabler, foot wabler, a contemptuous term for a foot soldier, frequently used by those of the cavalry.
1831 J. L. Hilpert Englisch-Deutsches u. Deutsch-Englisches Wörterbuch I. ii. 576/3 Wabblers, Infanteristen.
1899 Young Man June 194/1 There was a standing feud between the Dragoons and the Wobblers.
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the world > food and drink > food > animals for food > mutton > [noun] > other cuts or parts
Jack1466
sheep's tongue1552
leg of mutton1570
porknell1596
nut1611
pope's eye1663
hand1671
mutton chop1696
mutton cutlet1706
wether-gammona1774
wobbler1823
Queen Elizabeth's bone1846
chump1861
skirt1881
the world > food and drink > food > dishes and prepared food > meat dishes > [noun] > mutton dishes
poor man of mutton1681
Oxford John1784
Irish stew1799
wobbler1823
navarin1877
Lancashire hotpot1898
navarin printanier1901
1823 ‘J. Bee’ Slang Wabbler, a boiled leg of mutton, alluding to the noise made in dressing it.
4. A person who wavers or vacillates in his or her opinions, actions, etc.
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the mind > will > decision > irresolution or vacillation > [noun] > irresolute or vacillating person
demurrer1533
hanger1536
staggerer1552
hobbler1575
tennis ball1589
waverer1597
halter1608
suspender1625
waver1667
fluttererc1726
oscillator1798
pendulum1818
shilly-shallyer1832
shilly-shally1834
wobbler1837
hesitater1853
dilly-dallier1880
vacillator1890
haverer1947
1837 John Bull 27 Mar. 151/1 We are much mistaken, if the Hon. Baronet's name is not to be found on the list of some divisions on Reform motions, in favour of them, when that of O'Connell's ‘Jacky’ of the Bedford Level, ‘the little Wabbler’ himself, is to be seen on the opposite side.
1867 New Albany (Indiana) Daily Commerc. 6 Mar. A man who is not a good wobbler stands no chance... If he can wobble towards Conservatism long enough to get appointment, and then wobble into Radicalism long enough to be confirmed, he can get through.
1916 W. B. Munro Princ. & Methods Munic. Admin. vii. 278 He must have qualities of firmness and decision in abundance; the police commissioner's office is the last place in the world for a weakling or a wobbler.
1960 A. Nutting Europe will not Wait x. 59 He saw we must find a way to steady the wobblers and counter the neutralists.
2001 Financial Times 8 Nov. 21/6 Those who now shift their position are written off as wobblers.
5. A person who, or animal or thing which, walks or moves from side to side unsteadily or with uncertain direction.
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the world > movement > progressive motion > walking > [noun] > manner of walking > unsteady > one who
staggerer1552
totterer1711
wobbler1855
1855 B. H. Ellis Stack's Dict. Sindhi & Eng. (new ed.) 194/2 One who staggers in walking, a wabbler.
1869 Bradford Observer 23 Dec. 6/3 The Caroline was a good ship, but she was rather a wobbler.
1897 A. Barrère & C. G. Leland Dict. Slang Wobbler,..a horse that swerves from side to side when trotting.
1938 Foreign Service Feb. 13/1 I heard a heavy shell come whe-e-eing through the air. It was a wobbler and was going to fall far short of its range.
1958 C. Landreth Psychol. Early Childhood iv. 108 For balancing, a wide plank near the ground for wobblers, a narrow plank at a height for the more sure-footed.
2015 Sc. Daily Mail (Nexis) 15 Aug. 60 We kept finding unstable rocks that became known as ‘wobblers’ that made sure footing more difficult.
6. Mechanics.† a. A cutting head mounted at an angle on a shaft so that it cuts a wide groove. Cf. wobble saw n. at wobble v. Compounds. Obsolete. rare.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > machine tool > [noun] > specific tools
hook1680
rough grinder1777
side tool1804
bottom tool1819
broad1846
sweep1847
wobbler1875
knurl1879
cam-cuttera1884
fly-cutter1884
1875 E. H. Knight Amer. Mech. Dict. III. 2717/1 Wabbler, an elliptical cutter-head placed at such obliquity on the shaft as to revolve in a circular path. Sometimes called a drunken cutter.
b. A projection or set of projections on the end of a roller or spindle, by means of which it can be turned. Often attributive.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > metalworking equipment > [noun] > rolling equipment > parts of rolling mill
housing1839
roll-neck1863
housing screw1865
wobbler1895
1895 Electr. Engin. (Chicago) 6 365 The star-shaped end of the roll allows the employment of a flexible coupling called a ‘wobbler’.
1904 J. W. Hall in F. W. Harbord Metallurgy of Steel xvi. 294 At the outer end of each neck forming part of the casting is a ‘wobbler’, provided with either three or four prongs or corners, by means of which the roll is driven.
1919 Jrnl. Inst. Metals 22 383 Rolls.—These are usually of chilled cast iron or hardened steel. For wobbler ends, the four-horn design is the most general in use.
1978 W. L. Roberts Cold Rolling of Steel iii. 64 Wobblers are shown in Figure 3-3, and flat roll ends in Figure 3-4.
2012 D. Randman et al. in S. N. Mathaudhu et al. Magnesium Technol. 2012 23/2 A new spindle was engineered with the universal couplings, that replaced the old wobbler joints.
c. Also wobbler plate. A plate mounted at an angle on a shaft in order to impart a reciprocating motion to a part in contact with it; = swash-plate n. at swash adv., int., and n.1 Compounds 2. Cf. wobble plate n. at wobble v. Compounds.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > parts of machines > shaft > [noun] > parts of > which imparts motion
swash-platea1877
wobble plate1904
thrust-ring1906
wobbler plate1950
1950 W. E. Wilson Positive-displacem. Pumps & Fluid Motors iii. 42 Oil pressure forces the pistons against the nonrotating wobbler. The resultant force is transmitted through ball and roller bearings to the wobbler plate on the shaft and imparts a rotating action to it.
1989 Adv. in Electronics & Electron Physics 73 217 The square-wave voltage was synchronously applied to the wobbler plates and the deflection plates to produce two separated stereo images.
7. Angling. A lure which wobbles and does not spin.
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the world > food and drink > hunting > fishing > fishing-tackle > means of attracting fish > [noun] > bait > wobbling or bobbing bait
wobbler1878
dap1920
1878 Bell's Life in London 13 Apr. 4/1 Try the trout with a ‘wobbler’! One might just as well spin in the water butt, if it were possible, with about an equal chance of success.
1928 E. F. Spence Pike Fisher v. 55 The ‘shining streak of silver’ does not resemble any inhabitant of river or lake, but the ‘wobbler’ does look something like an injured fish.
1977 Best of Austral. Angler 49/1 The wobbler and spoon type lure, however, whilst also being highly attractive to trout, are more suited to the physical requirements.
a1993 R. H. Williams Joyful Trek (1996) 143 I cast again and this time he fought the wobbler with his tail, getting himself well hooked.
2002 Field & Stream July 39/1 This summer, thousands of poppers, chuggers, wobblers,..and buzzers will bloop, swoosh, rip,..and spit in an effort to coax a bass into striking.
8. A horse or dog affected by any of various degenerative neurological conditions causing ataxia, neck pain, muscle weakness, and occasional paralysis. Cf. wobbler syndrome n. at Compounds.
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1939 Jrnl. Amer. Vet. Med. Assoc. 95 264/1 Insurance companies in this area do not hesitate in paying the insurance on an animal diagnosed as a wobbler.
1989 J. Richardson Dobermann i. iv. 49/2 If your dog..is at risk of becoming a wobbler it would not be prudent to use him for breeding.
1998 J. R. Rooney Lame Horse ii. 38 Ataxic horses, such as wobblers, routinely develop wear lines in the talocrural joint.
2005 Financial Times 26 Mar. 12 Shamardal was almost put down as a yearling because he was a ‘wobbler’.
9. A fit of temper; = wobbly n.2 1. Frequently in to throw a wobbler: = to throw a wobbly at wobbly n.2 2.
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the mind > emotion > excitement > nervous excitement > [noun] > fit of
widden-dreamOE
taking?1552
spell1856
wobbler1942
the mind > emotion > excitement > nervous excitement > unhealthy excitement > go into hysterics [verb (intransitive)]
hystericize1819
throw1896
to throw a wobbler1942
to flip out1964
to throw a wobbly1964
the mind > emotion > anger > [verb (intransitive)] > become angry
wrethec900
wrothc975
abelghec1300
to move one's blood (also mood)c1330
to peck moodc1330
gremec1460
to take firea1513
fumec1522
sourdc1540
spitec1560
to set up the heckle1601
fire1604
exasperate1659
to fire up1779
to flash up1822
to get one's dander up1831
to fly (occasionally jump, etc.) off (at) the handle1832
to have (also get) one's monkey up1833
to cut up rough, rusty, savage1837
rile1837
to go off the handle1839
to flare up1840
to set one's back up1845
to run hot1855
to wax up1859
to get one's rag out1862
blow1871
to get (also have) the pricker1871
to turn up rough1872
to get the needle1874
to blaze up1878
to get wet1898
spunk1898
to see red1901
to go crook1911
to get ignorant1913
to hit the ceiling1914
to hit the roof1921
to blow one's top1928
to lose one's rag1928
to lose one's haira1930
to go up in smoke1933
hackle1935
to have, get a cob on1937
to pop (also blow) one's cork1938
to go hostile1941
to go sparec1942
to do one's bun1944
to lose one's wool1944
to blow one's stack1947
to go (also do) one's (also a) dingerc1950
rear1953
to get on ignorant1956
to go through the roof1958
to keep (also blow, lose) one's cool1964
to lose ita1969
to blow a gasket1975
to throw a wobbler1985
1942 L. V. Berrey & M. Van den Bark Amer. Thes. Slang §130/11 Fit, esp. a feigned one.., brody,..wobbler.
1985 Sunday Times 5 May 7/2 Vikki said the camera shots were all wrong, her manager objected to ‘the thin sound’, and the backing group..threw a complete wobbler.
1994 N. Parker Parkhurst Tales iv. 36 Barry's second wobbler came right out of the blue, just like the first one.
2013 Drogheda Independent (Nexis) 3 July 35 He threatened to throw a wobbler if he didn't win.
Compounds
wobbler syndrome n. Veterinary Medicine a degenerative neurological condition found in dogs and horses, esp. caused by compression of the spinal cord by the vertebrae, resulting in ataxia, neck pain, muscle weakness, and occasional paralysis; a condition of this type.
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1960 Proc. of Third Ann. Florida Conf. for Veterinarians 48 In the older foal, the ‘Wobbler’ syndrome characterized by an ataxia of uncertain etiology is well recognized in this country.
1999 Horse & Rider Sept. 39/1 Wobbler syndrome in horses is usually produced by physical pressure on the nerves of the spinal cord of the neck.
2014 New Castle (Pennsylvania) News 29 Sept. b4/2 Even after both surgery and medical management, some dogs with wobbler syndrome may never walk normally again.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2016; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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