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crawler

craw·ler

US/ˈkrɔlɜr/ uncommon obsolete slang uk

noun

1.
2.

a person who crawls or creeps along the ground

Synonyms
3.

terrestrial worm that burrows into and helps aerate soil; often surfaces when the ground is cool or wet; used as bait by anglers

Synonyms

Origin

From crawl (“to act in a servile manner”) + -er. From the Australian convict period (1788-1850); a prisoner who was purposely and extensively abused by an overseer (also a convict) and thereby driven to escape but who, finding it impossible to survive in the Australian bush, surrenders to this overseer, who would then have his penal term reduced. The particular crawler was picked for his weak personality and might escape and return a number of times increasing his own penal term each time. According to James Tucker, some convict overseers had their sentences extensively reduced using this odious practice.

Phrases

  • church crawler
  • crawler crane
  • crawler lane
  • crawler track
  • creepy crawler
  • curb crawler
  • dungeon crawler
  • ice crawler

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

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Parts

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.