Link Centre Dictionary

Hooker

hoo·ker

UK/ˈhɵkə/ US/ˈhʊkə/ fairly common informal slang us

noun

1.

United States general in the Union Army who was defeated at Chancellorsville by Robert E. Lee (1814-1879)

Synonyms
2.

English theologian (1554-1600)

Synonyms
3.

a prostitute who attracts customers by walking the streets

Synonyms
4.

a golfer whose shots typically curve left (for right-handed golfers)

5.

(rugby) the player in the middle of the front row of the scrum who tries to capture the ball with the foot

Origin

Unknown. The "prostitute" sense is the subject of a folk etymology connecting it to General Hooker of the American Civil War, but the earliest known use dates to 1835, decades before the war. Less implausibly, it has also been connected to a coastal feature called a hook (“A spit or narrow cape of sand or gravel turned landward at the outer end, such as Sandy Hook in New Jersey, Red Hook in New York”) in the ports of New York and Baltimore. Carefully learned inference is not conclusive. See this essay, pp 105ff.

Phrases

  • left hooker
  • sweat like a hooker in church
  • text hooker
  • with blackjack and hookers

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

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.