stonecatcher

Noun

stonecatcher (plural stonecatchers)

1. Something that catches or traps stones.
   • The dirt and stones detached from the beets are deposited on the floor of the stonecatcher, or receiver, fixed to the back part of this machine, from which they are from time to time emptied out from below;1889, Reports from the Consuls of the United States, page 114
   • According to the Scientific American (through whose courtesy the accompanying cuts are reproduced), the water flows through a six-inch steel casing into a “stonecatcher" (illustrated herewith), which arrests pebbles (some weighing twenty-two and one-half pounds), small boulders, and stones, which...1901, Fire and Water - Volumes 29-30, page 234
2. (figuratively) A person who shows mercy by intervening when someone is treated with overly harsh or cruel punishments.
   • But today, our self-righteousness, our fear, and our anger have caused even the Christians to hurl stones at the people who fall down, even when we know we should forgive or show compassion. I told the congregation that we can't simply watch that happen. I told them we have to be stonecatchers.2014, Bryan Stevenson, Just Mercy, page 309
   • In contrast, a preemptive inclination to offer mercy (to be a stonecatcher) puts us actively intervening in condemnation around us— averting flashpoints before they start or, in the midst of judgment, encouraging others to consider alternatives to what they perceive as "deserved" outcomes.2018, Billy T. Ogletree, Mean Christianity: Finding Our Way Back to Christ's Likeness, page 108