slobberknockern.
/ˈslɒbənɒkə/, U.S. /ˈslɑbərˌnɑkər/ Sport slang (originally U.S.).
1. An American football player with a particularly aggressive style of play.
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1967 Dallas Morning News 11 Oct. b2/2 (caption) Don Pfrimmer..slobber-knocker from Texas.
1981 Knoxville (Tennessee) News-Sentinel 16 Apr. 23/3 The guys last year, like Greg Gaines, were super-aggressive. Gaines and Bates are very—what should I say?—slobberknockers. I don't claim to be a slobberknocker, even though I don't plan on people running over me.
2019 @NateSestina 10 Oct. in twitter.com (accessed 5 Nov. 2019) Start Pratt. He's a slobberknocker.
2. A match or contest that is particularly hard-fought or physically aggressive. Also: a violent or severe blow, collision between players, etc.Now the usual sense.In quot. 1982 referring to the name of a game, perhaps similar to dodgeball (dodgeball n. at dodge n.1 Additions). In other early uses usually in the context of American football.
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society > leisure > sport > match or competition > [noun] > types of
all comersc1450
after-gamea1500
fore-game1594
revenge1616
plate1639
set-to1743
return match1753
bye1754
scrub-race1791
anybody's game (also race, match)1826
return1834
barney1843
bonspiel1858
handicap1861
pennant1865
home-and-home1868
benefit match1871
run-off1873
international1877
American tournament1878
Grand Prix1879
single1884
friendly1885
all-comers1889
pair1890
championship1893
round robin1894
replay1895
Olympiad1896
junior varsity1902
lightning tournament1903
rematch1903
road trip1903
pickup1905
freestyle1906
marathon1908
test1908
Derby1909
scrimmage1910
eliminator1911
twosome1911
triala1914
quadrangular1916
slug-fest1916
varsity match1921
needle contest1922
curtain jerker1923
needle match1923
open1926
needle fight1927
knock-out1928
shirt1930
masters1933
pro-amateur1934
tune-up1934
World Cup1934
pro-am1937
state1941
sizzler1942
runathon1943
mismatch1954
run-out1955
match-up1959
squeaker1961
triple-header1961
Super Bowl1967
invitational1968
needle game1970
major1976
slobberknocker1986
1982 Clarksville (Texas) Times 6 May 2/6 Jack Hilliard hit him in the head with a basketball and knocked him cold... We played slobber knocker all the time, and nobody had ever been knocked out before.]
1986 Port Arthur (Texas) News 9 Jan. 3 c/2 At least Sherril realized the opposition's strength. ‘We're going to have some slobber-knockers here next season.’
1997 New Castle (Pa.) News 4 Dec. 20/1 Defensively, Gardner became known because of his Slobber Knockers, the hits that cause promising young running backs to shift their attention towards less dangerous hobbies.
2018 Advertiser (Austral.) (Nexis) 24 Nov. 82 You reckon the battle between [racing drivers] SVG and McLaughlin is a slobberknocker?
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2020; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1967