different between spanker vs spanger

English

Etymology

spank +? -er

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /spæ?k?/
• (US, Canada) IPA^(key): /spæ?k?/
• Rhymes: -æ?k?(?)

Noun

spanker (plural spankers)

1. Someone who spanks.
2. An instrument used to give someone a spanking or spank, such as a paddle.
3. (nautical) A fore-and-aft gaff-rigged sail on the aft-most mast of a square-rigged vessel.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Totten to this entry?)

4. (dated, music) A musician who plays his instrument well.
5. (obsolete, Britain, dialect) A small coin.
   • 1772, The Town and Country Magazine (volume 4, page 344)

     Egad, Jack, I am glad to see you, for I want a few spankers.

6. (dated) One who takes long, quick strides in walking.
7. (dated) A swift horse.
8. (dated, slang) Something very large, or larger than usual; a whopper.
9. (dated, slang) Something splendid; a fine example of its kind.
   • 2015, Alan Bennett, The Lady in the Van

     I like the new vehicle. A real spanker. Not a mark on it. Particularly as regards the bodywork.

   • 2002, Catherine Cookson, The Silent Lady

     Well, you would say […] you didn't know what kind of carpet it was. It could be from Timbuktu or John O'Groats or anywhere else. But Dixon seems to know his stuff, and he said it's a spanker and that he would've had it himself, only it's too big for his front room.

Synonyms

• (gaff-rigged sail): blooper, tallboy

Derived terms

• plank spanker

Translations

Anagrams

• sparken

English

Etymology

spange +? -er (“person who does”), root blend of spare +? change, from stereotyped phrase “spare change?”, “spare any change?”

Pronunciation

Noun

spanger (plural spangers)

1. (US, slang, derogatory) beggar, one who uses the phrase “spare change?”
   • 2007, Pam Hogeweide, Spangers and Song on Hawthorne:

     I squatted down on the sidewalk to get eye level with the spanger (someone who asks passerbys for spare change).

Usage notes

While sometimes used neutrally, more often used pejoratively, with connotations of professional begging.

Related terms

• spange
• spanging

References

Anagrams

• Pranges, engrasp