wobbler

English

Etymology

From wobble +‎ -er.

Pronunciation

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

Noun

wobbler (plural wobblers)

1. One who or that which wobbles.
2. A person who is undecided, and might go to either side.
   • 2005, Alfred H. Burne, The Battlefields of England:

     Towns fell to him like so many houses of cards; and the fall of each town represented not only an accession to the prestige of the Royalist commander but a physical accession of strength as the wobblers flocked to the successful army.

3. (curling) A stone that rocks from side to side as it travels because it is not resting on its running surface.
4. (colloquial, law) A case that could go either way depending on factors that cannot be controlled.
5. (colloquial, law) A class of crime that can be charged as a lower penalty or a higher penalty, e.g. a crime punishable as either a misdemeanor or a felony at the discretion of the prosecutor.
6. (fishing) A fishing lure made to resemble a prey fish and that wobbles in the water; plug, minnow.
7. (slang, UK, Ireland, Commonwealth) A sudden unexpected outburst of anger or rage; a tantrum.

   Synonym: wobbly

8. (slang, British, Ireland, Islam, derogatory) a Salafi.
9. (advertising) A small publicity notice which appears to float at eye level, being attached to a fixture by a flexible arm.
   • 1958 May 19, “Irish offers sales kit”, in Billboard, page 18:

     A wire "Wobbler" holds a card for counter display

   • 2006 February 28, “Recycling message hits supermarket shelves in Bristol”, in LetsRecycle.com:

     Yesterday saw the launch of the initiative, which will use advertising “shelf wobblers” that usually publicise special offers to encourage Bristol shoppers to bring back their plastic bottles for recycling.

10. The end of the roll in a roller mill for shaping steel.
11. A boiled leg of mutton.

Synonyms

• (sudden outburst of anger): see Thesaurus:tantrum

Derived terms

• shelf-wobbler
• wobbler disease
• wobbler syndrome
• wobblette

Translations

stone that rocks from side to side as it travels because it is not resting on its running surface

fishing lure made to resemble a prey fish and that wobbles in the water

• Bulgarian: блесна f (blesna)
• Russian: во́блер (ru) m (vóbler)

tantrum — see tantrum