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clay eater
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noun Usually Disparaging.
(in the South Atlantic States) a term used to refer to a poor, uneducated person from a rural area.
QUIZ
THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?
Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.
Question 1 of 7
In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…
Origin of clay eater
An Americanism dating back to 1835–45
usage note for clay eater
This term refers to the eating of clay-rich dirt, a persistent custom among poor white and Black people in some rural areas of the South.
Words nearby clay eater
claybank, Clayborn, clay-colored robin, clay-colored sparrow, clay court, clay eater, clayey, clay flour, Clay, Henry, Claymation, clay mineral
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use clay eater in a sentence
The term "sand-hiller," or "clay-eater," is a terrible one of reproach, and is applied unsparingly by the aristocrats.
Daring and Suffering:|William Pittenger