pecker

American  

[pek-er] / ˈpɛk ər /

noun

1. a person or thing that pecks. peck.

2. a bird's bill.

3. a woodpecker.

4. Slang: Vulgar. penis.

5. British Slang. one's spirits or courage.

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pecker British  

/ ˈpɛkə /

noun

1. slang spirits (esp in the phrase keep one's pecker up )

2. informal short for woodpecker

3. slang a slang word for penis

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Etymology

Origin of pecker

First recorded in 1580–90; peck ¹ + -er ¹

Example Sentences

"Thank you so much to everyone that has bought it - I hope you're having as much fun listening to it as I had making it. Keep your pecker up and all the very best."

From BBC • Oct. 5, 2014

Keep your pecker up, old feller!" said Mr. Bouncer, in an encouraging tone, as they drove into Oxford, "and don't be down in the mouth about a dirty trick like this.

From Adventures of Mr. Verdant Green by Bede, Cuthbert

Keep your pecker up, James,' he added, in a tone which the patron and the bully spoke at once.

From VC — A Chronicle of Castle Barfield and of the Crimea by Murray, David Christie

Now were G-SCH-N seen collecting cash for his dry Exchequer With pole and net, it were nicer, you bet, than keeping up his financial pecker With Spirit Duties!

From Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 100, May 23, 1891 by Various

The other cause is the very imperfect mode of its preparation for market; this being invariably accomplished by the primitive pestle and mortar, or the old-fashioned "pecker mill."

From The Commercial Products of the Vegetable Kingdom Considered in Their Various Uses to Man and in Their Relation to the Arts and Manufactures; Forming a Practical Treatise & Handbook of Reference for the Colonist, Manufacturer, Merchant, and Consumer, on the Cultivation, Preparation for Shipment, and Commercial Value, &c. of the Various Substances Obtained From Trees and Plants, Entering into the Husbandry of Tropical and Sub-tropical Regions, &c. by Simmonds, P. L.

Related Words

• snout