warmer-upper

[wawr-mer-uhp-er]

noun

Informal.

1. something that provides one with invigorating warmth.

   Hot soup is a good warmer-upper after skiing.

2. something that serves to warm up an audience or group of participants before a main event.

   Radio stations played martial music as a warmer-upper before the prime minister's speech.

Word History and Origins

Origin of warmer-upper¹

1940–45; warm up + -er ¹, applied pleonastically to both v. and particle

Example Sentences

That flight promises to be one long toast to Lobaton: the warmer-upper of pitchers, the teaser of the manager, the remover-of-helmets for every Nats player who hits a home run and now, the slugger who may have turned a postseason series on its head.

From Washington Post

On “StarTalk,” the warmer-upper is Dr. Tyson himself, who began by teasing a reporter in the first row for being the only one not wearing black.

From New York Times

The mayor is a deliberate warmer-upper.

From New York Times

He is a genteel European type with a pronounced German accent who is not a natural audience warmer-upper like Microsoft's manic Steve Ballmer.

From The Guardian