losern.
/ˈluːzə/, U.S. /ˈluzər/ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > [noun] > one who or that which destroys
baneOE
losera1340
leeserc1380
stroyerc1380
destroyer1382
ravenerc1390
castera1400
confounder1401
wastera1425
stroyc1440
undoerc1440
unmakerc1450
confounderess1509
hydraa1513
stroy-good1540
abolisher1548
thunderbolt1559
disannullera1572
stroy-all1573
ruiner1581
down-puller1583
murdererc1585
spendingc1595
blaster1598
assassin1609
ruinater1609
dissolver1611
minerc1614
destructioner1621
fordoer1631
sinker1632
destructive1640
deletery1642
assassinatea1658
ruinator1658
destroyeress1662
destructora1691
dissolvent1835
solvent1841
wrecker1882
destructant1889
a1340 R. Rolle Psalter Cant. 512 I sall be glad in god..my saueoure, noght in þe warld my losere.
1388 in Wyclif's Sel. Wks. III. 459 Þis court is..loser of al þe worlde.
?1611 G. Chapman tr. Homer Iliads xviii. 109 And when the loser of my friend his death in me shall find; Let death take all.
2. Proverb.1533 T. More Debellacyon Salem & Bizance ii. xix. f. cxxxiiv Hit is an olde courtesye at the cardys perdye, to lette the leser haue hys wordes.] 1546 J. Heywood Dialogue Prouerbes Eng. Tongue ii. vi. sig. Iv Let the loosers haue theyr woordes.1599 E. Sandys Europæ Speculum (1632) 123 The wisest men have beene..pleased, that losers should have their words.1634 T. Herbert Relation Some Yeares Trauaile 47 Giue loosers leaue to prate.1692 R. South 12 Serm. I. 441 Losers, and Male-contents, whose portion and inheritance is a freedom to speak.
a. One who loses or suffers loss.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > failure or lack of success > defeat or overthrow > [noun] > losing > one who loses
tiner1540
leeser1546
loser1546
1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VIII f. lxv One daie thone parte lost, and the other gained, and likewise the losers regained.
1555 R. Eden tr. S. von Herberstein Rerum moscouiticarum commentarii in tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Decades of Newe Worlde f. 303 I may vppon iust occasion thynke my selfe a looser manye wayes.
1604 W. Shakespeare Hamlet iv. v. 142 You will draw both friend and foe Winner and looser . View more context for this quotation
1608 Burgh Rec. Glasgow (1876) I. 283 That thay be nocht loseris of thair provisioun.
1703 W. Burkitt Expos. Notes New Test. Mark x. 31 We may be Losers for Christ, we shall never be Losers by him.
1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. II. vii. 267 He always declared that he had been a loser by his mission.
b. A squanderer or waster (of time).
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > disadvantage > uselessness > misuse > [noun] > failure to make use or take advantage of > one who
loser1650
fritterer1837
1650 Bp. J. Taylor Rule & Exercises Holy Living i. §1. 8 If one of the Speakers be..trifling, he that hears, and he that answers..are equal losers of their time.
1691 A. Wood Athenæ Oxonienses I. 354 The author was no loser of his time.
c. A horse that loses in a race.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > racing or race > horse racing > [noun] > horse by performance
lightweight1773
sticker1779
maiden1807
favourite1813
mile-horse1829
outsider1836
heavyweight1857
stayer1862
stoner1862
rank outsider1869
pick1872
pot1874
timer1881
resurrectionist1883
short head1883
pea1888
cert1889
stiffa1890
wrong 'un1889
on the mark1890
place horse1890
top-weight1892
miler1894
also-ran1895
selection1901
loser1902
hotpot1904
roughie1908
co-favourite1922
readier1922
springer1922
fav1935
scratch1938
no-hoper1943
shoo-in1950
scorer1974
the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > family Equidae (general equines) > horse defined by purpose used for > [noun] > racehorse > that finishes in particular position
throw-in1855
short head1883
place horse1890
whipper-in1892
also-ran1895
loser1902
scorer1974
1902 J. Burns in Speaker 11 Jan. 419/1 The workman works hard five days, but on the sixth is generally found at the ‘Corner Pin’ spotting winners and catching losers.
d. a bad, poor (or good) loser: a person who loses with bad (or good) grace.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > badness or evil > evil person > [noun] > when losing
a bad loser1892
the world > action or operation > failure or lack of success > defeat or overthrow > [noun] > losing > one who loses > specific
a bad, poor (or good) loser1892
1892 A. W. Pinero Magistrate i. 28 I hate a bad loser, don't you, Guv?
1916 Dial. Notes 4 326 Loser n., differentiated as good loser and bad loser. Not local. ‘Those college boys are good losers and do not complain at defeat, but the academy boys..are sure bad losers.’
1931 D. L. Sayers Five Red Herrings xiii. 146 He was a bad loser. A slice off the tee..would put him off his game for the afternoon.
1947 ‘G. Orwell’ Eng. People 14 The admiration for a ‘good loser’.
1951 M. Shulman Many Loves of Dobie Gillis (1953) 206 ‘Poor loser!’ they kept yelling as they clobbered me.
1973 A. Mann Tiara xvii. 164 The British were always talking about ‘being a good loser’.
1973 Radio Times 20 Dec. 10/1 I like to win at things. But..I'm a good loser.
e. An unsuccessful or incompetent person, a failure.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > failure or lack of success > [noun] > one who or that which is unsuccessful > one who is a failure
botch1769
non-starter1839
schlemiel1868
also-ran1896
rinky-dink1900
flivver1915
wash-out1918
jabroni1919
bust1922
blowout1925
dropout1930
zilch1933
sad sack1943
loser1955
1955 Amer. Speech 30 304 Loser,..someone..hopeless.
1959 Amer. Speech 34 154 Those limited in ability or old-fashioned in dress or manners, [are] losers.
1959 Amer. Speech 34 154 The opposite of a B[ig] M[an] O[n] C[ampus] is a loser.
1972 Melody Maker 25 Nov. 53 (heading) Jiving K. Boots. The adventures of a loser musician.
1974 J. Stubbs Painted Face xiii. 180 Poor fellow... A born loser, every time.
3. Billiards. A losing hazard.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > billiards, pool, or snooker > [noun] > actions or types of play > type of stroke
hazard1674
carambole1775
carom1779
cannon1802
screw1825
sidestroke1834
following stroke1837
cannonade1844
five-stroke1847
follow1850
scratch1850
fluke1857
jenny1857
bank shot1859
angle shot1860
draw shot1860
six-stroke1861
run-through1862
spot1868
quill1869
dead-stroke1873
loser1873
push1873
push stroke1873
stab1873
stab screw1873
draw1881
force1881
plant1884
anchor cannon1893
massé1901
angle1902
cradle-cannon1907
pot1907
jump shot1909
carry-along1913
snooker1924
1873 J. Bennett & ‘Cavendish’ Billiards 281 There may be a loser left off the white.
1902 J. Roberts, Jr. Mod. Billiards 88 The angle is not suitable for a following loser, so the play is again a loser off the cushion.
4. U.S. slang. A convicted criminal, a person who has served a sentence in prison. So two-time (or three-time, etc.) loser, a person who has been in prison twice (or three, etc., times).
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > punishment > imprisonment > prisoner > [noun] > one who has been long or often in jail
Newgate bird1580
bridewell bird1590
jail-bird1603
prison-birda1640
old hand1826
repeater1873
old lag1910
loser1912
in-and-out boy1937
1912 D. Lowrie My Life in Prison xi. 127 T'day some four 'r five time loser'll drive up with a year.
1912 D. Lowrie My Life in Prison xxvii. 337 He was a ‘ten-time loser’ the last time I saw him; i.e., he had served nine previous terms at either San Quentin or Folsom.
1914 L. E. Jackson & C. R. Hellyer Vocab. Criminal Slang 56 Loser noun, current amongst prison habitues. An ex-convict... Examples: ‘Three-time losers cop life in some states.’
1926 Clues Nov. 161/2 Loser, one who has served a prison sentence.
1931 Amer. Speech 7 117 Two-time loser, a prisoner who has been convicted twice. ‘He's a two-time loser; got the book the second time.’
1939 E. S. Gardner D.A. draws Circle (1940) xii. 213 He's a two-time loser.
1950 H. E. Goldin Dict. Amer. Underworld Lingo 129/1 Loser, anyone convicted of a felony. (A second felony conviction makes one a ‘two-time loser’; a third conviction, a ‘three-time loser’, etc.) ‘I'm a four-time loser on the next pinch (arrest).’
1973 Houston Chron. 14 Oct. (Texas Mag.) 4/1 Bob, a three-time loser with a long line of busts and drug abuse..was sick of his life.
5. Bridge.
a. A losing card.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > card game > bridge > [noun] > types of card
card of re-entry1870
master card1872
singleton1876
entry1884
control1892
stopper1900
raiser1912
long card1913
loser1917
X1920
minor1927
top1929
side entry1937
penalty card1958
master1962
1917 E. Bergholt Royal Auction Bridge (1918) 56 The opponent will be able to make two tricks in that suit before Y has had a chance of discarding his two losers.
1921 F. Irwin Compl. Auction Player ii. 48 You hold five losers. That is a two-bid, no more.
1964 Contract Bridge (‘Know the Game’ Series) (ed. 2) 29/1 You should not play any trumps but utilize them to ruff losers.
1964 R. L. Frey & A. F. Truscott Official Encycl. Bridge 334/1 At no trump, all cards below the ace and not in sequence with it are possible losers.
b. loser-on-loser n. (see quot. 1964).
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > card game > [noun] > actions or tactics > specific
discarding1592
facing1635
pull1715
lead1742
return1742
discard1778
solo1814
underplay1850
convention1862
force1862
showdown1870
unblocking1885
false-carding1923
passed hand1924
exit1934
reverse1936
loser-on-loser1947
1929 Auction Bridge Mag. Jan. 328/1 (title) Discarding a loser on a loser…discarding a losing card on a loser..may be the only play to secure the contract or game.]
1947 T. Reese Reese on Play xi. 162 Loser-on-loser play makes the hand against any defence... Some very complicated positions can arise after a loser-on-loser elimination.
1964 R. L. Frey & A. F. Truscott Official Encycl. Bridge 334/1 Loser on loser, the act of playing a card that must be lost on a losing trick in some other suit.
6. Tennis. A losing stroke.
ΚΠ
1928 Daily Tel. 29 May 15/5 Mrs. Watson..was not hitting many actual winners; Fraulein Aussem was making a series of losers.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1903; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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