choker

Noun

choker (plural chokers)

1. A piece of jewelry or ornamental fabric, worn as a necklace or neckerchief, tight to the throat.
   • After half a minute or so there was a shuffle of feet outside. The door was opened, and a head appeared. It was a small head with a tweed cap on the top of it. It had a stringy-looking choker beneath and a dark unshavenness across its face.1951, John Wyndham, The Day of the Triffids, Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, published 1954, page 128
   • Anne Talbot looked demurely ravishing, as was her intention, in a very low-cut evening frock of bottle-green, choker of Kelantan silver, earrings in the shape of krises.1958, Anthony Burgess, The Enemy in the Blanket (The Malayan Trilogy), published 1972, page 292
2. One who, or that which, chokes or strangles.
   • The Yorkshire Choker, a serial killer who quotes Shakespeare, is pursued by Dalziel and Pascoe.1990, Janet Husband, Jonathan F. Husband, Sequels: An Annotated Guide to Novels in Series, page 199

   Synonyms:

   strangler

   1. A traffic calming device used to narrow a road and produce a chokepoint.
3. One who operates the choke of an engine during ignition.
4. (slang) Any disappointing or upsetting circumstance.
   • I lost £100 on the horses today — what a choker!

   Synonyms:

   bummer, downer, pisser

5. One who performs badly at an important part of a competition because they are nervous, especially when winning.
   • The choker tag will always follow the Proteas until we win a trophy — Temba Bavuma
6. A loop of cable fastened around a log to haul it.