dobber

Noun

dobber (plural dobbers)

1. (UK, derogatory) A member of the working class in Scotland or Ireland who is seen as undereducated, with poor taste, especially in clothes, and poor social skills.
2. (Australia, UK, derogatory) One who dobs (someone) (informs against them or implicates them to authority).
   • Nikki is such a dobber, she told the teacher that I hit Karen in the playground.
   • In awakening us to our powerlessness, whistleblowers produce all sorts of crisscrossed emotions. Should we respond to them as truth-bearing ethical citizens, or spiteful, griping dobbers?1999, William De Maria, Deadly Disclosures: Whistleblowing and the Ethical Meltdown of Australia, page 16

   Synonyms:

   snitch, snitcher, tattletale

3. (UK, informal) Any small electronic device that plugs directly into a larger one, such as a wireless scoring system in fencing or a USB mass storage device.
4. (Ireland, UK, dialectal) A large marble.
   • They were the biggest rosary beads I ever saw, the beads were the size of big marbles or dobbers or taws. Dobbers and taws we used to play with in the channels beside the footpaths, when we used to play the road games.2004, Austin O'Donovan, O'Donovan from Garryowen, page 37
5. (US, regional) A float (as used by an angler).
   • In attaching this dobber or float, tie it on as short a tippet as you can manage and attach it to the leader from four to six feet above the nymph.2007, William G. Tapply, Trout Eyes: True Tales of Adventure, Travel, and Fly-Fishing, page 191

   Synonyms:

   bobber

6. (US, broadly, figuratively, regional) Spirit, pluck, self-esteem.
   • I went to the ballgame [in San Francisco] in April, and I was booed. I never was before that. It affected my dobber, my psyche.1978, Robert Pack, Jerry Brown, the Philosopher-prince, Scarborough House
   • Well, I got my dobber down, and I thought I was on my way back to Montreal. And I recall sitting down at the end of the dugout by myself and feeling damn dejected, I'll tell ya.2010 January 1, Peter Golenbock, Paul Dickson, Bums: An Oral History of the Brooklyn Dodgers, Courier Corporation, →ISBN
7. A dabchick.
8. (rare) A part of a planter.
   • Plate 17. The wheels of a potato planter which are adjustable on the axle to control row spacing, while the ‘dobbers’ may have their position adjusted around the slots in the wheels (Farmland Museum, Haddenham)1976, Percy W. Blandford, Old Farm Tools and Machinery: An Illustrated History, David & Charles, →ISBN
   • […] including their soil block planter, tractor mounted and suitable for use in 1.8 and 1.9m systems. The standard machine is fitted with 35 by 7cm rear depth wheels and a 55cm diameter drum, complete with bands of dobbers spaced at 30cm.1977, GC & HTJ: Gardeners' Chronicle and Horticultural Trade Journal, volume 182, page 29
9. (Ireland, Northern England, Scotland, UK, especially, slang) A penis, especially a relatively large one.
   • He puts a hand around it, tries to mind what it means, the having of a penis. Nothing's doing but. His dobber's no sure about it either, and the two of them dither there for a while, waiting for something to happen, a connection.2011 July 7, Ross Raisin, Waterline, Penguin UK, →ISBN
   • "Yes, but to jump into bed with another woman right after being with you. That's just plain disgusting. He needs to keep his dobber in his bloody pants.' Caitlin huffed indignantly.2021 July 8, Lisa Hobman, Under An Italian Sky: Escape to beautiful Italy with bestseller Lisa Hobman, Boldwood Books Ltd, →ISBN

   Synonyms:

   anaconda, baloney pony, bald-headed hermit, banana, bird, birdie, bobby, boonga, cack, choad