rubbernecker

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rub·ber·neck·er

(rŭb′ər-nĕk′ər)

n. Slang

A gawking onlooker.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

rubbernecker

(ˈrʌbəˌnekə)

informal a person who rubbernecks

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

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Noun

rubbernecker - a person who stares inquisitively

rubberneck

looker, spectator, viewer, watcher, witness - a close observer; someone who looks at something (such as an exhibition of some kind); "the spectators applauded the performance"; "television viewers"; "sky watchers discovered a new star"

Translations

badaud

зевака

rubbernecker

[ˈrʌbə^rnekə^r] n → badaud(e) m/frubber plant n → caoutchouc m (plante verte)rubber ring n (for swimming) → bouée f, bouée f de natationrubber solution n → dissolution frubber stamp n → tampon mrubber-stamp [ˌrʌbə^rˈstæmp] vt

(lit) → tamponner

(fig) [+ decision, plan, law] → approuver sans discussionrubber tree n → arbre m à gomme, hévéa m

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

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References in periodicals archive ?

Bauer, pictured, who lives near Barry and used to work for the Echo's sister paper The Western Mail, won the coveted prize in 2014 for her novel Rubbernecker, which followed a medical student with Asperger's Syndrome faced with solving a possible murder.

Crime author nominated for top prize

Bauer, who lives near Barry and used to work for the Western Mail, won the coveted prize in 2014 for her novel Rubbernecker, which followed a medical student with Asperger's Syndrome faced with solving a possible murder.

Crime writer in running for second literary prize

Accusing her of looking like her dad 'in a wig', he branded her a 'posh rubbernecker' and slammed her 'kids culture club'.

Oasis 2.0? Liam Gallagher's doppelganger sons Gene and Lennon unveil next generation of monobrows at dad's gig; Lennon chugged beer while his little brother played on his phone at the London Stadium

He (and it was always a he) is an observer of city life, slightly more focused and sociologically minded than the French baudaud (a rubbernecker), and was a near-professional observer of the street, of life.

Heralds of their Ages: The Flaneur and the Paepi

It was hard not to feel like a rubbernecker as you watched the actual crime scene footage.

Some killer TV with Sir Trevor

Her fourth novel Rubbernecker was voted 2014 Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year.

BOOK CLUB

He gained a stage reputation after appearing with Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant and Jimmy Carr in the 2001 Edinburgh Fringe Festival show Rubbernecker, and has regularly supported Ricky Gervais since.

Science of laughter; Comedy

Belinda's new book, Rubbernecker, takes readers into the grim surroundings of an anatomy class at Cardiff University Hospital as main character Patrick attempts to unravel the mysteries behind a murder nobody else suspects.

WHY BELINDA HAS TURNED TO WALES; Crime plot set in Cardiff to prove a point

Clearly, this definition of wonder would exclude "objectless curiosity." While looking at art, rainbows, or math, one runs no risk of being called a rubbernecker or a looky-loo.

Objectless curiosity: Frankenstein, The Station Agent, and other strange narratives

Rubbernecker: When there has been an accident the rubberneckers brake hard to have a good look.

Top cause of jams

When I came across Jason Byassee's article "License to Thrill" (December 2004), I felt like a rubbernecker: I hate the "prosperity gospel," but I secretly love to read about the jokers who are writing and hawking this stuff.