barker

See also Barker

English

Wikipedia

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ɑː(r)kə(r)

Etymology 1

From bark (“(dog noise)”) +‎ -er.

Noun

barker (plural barkers)

1. Someone or something who barks.

   My neighbor's dog is a constant barker that keeps me awake at night.

2. A person employed to solicit customers by calling out to passersby, e.g. at a carnival.

   Bob had amassed a considerable stockpile of double entendres from his days working as a barker for a strip joint.

3. A shelf-talker.
4. (video games) A video game mode where the action is demonstrated to entice someone to play the game.

   The barker mode of the arcade video game convinced the teenager to spend a quarter.

5. (slang, dated) A pistol.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Charles Dickens to this entry?)

6. The spotted redshank.

Synonyms

• spruik
• tout

Etymology 2

From bark (“(surface of tree)”) +‎ -er.

Noun

barker (plural barkers)

1. (obsolete, obsolete, slang) A person that removes the bark from wood, or prepares it for use in tanning.

   The profession of barker has been made largely obsolete by the introduction of more effective tanning agents, but it lives on as a surname.

2. A machine used to remove the bark from wood.

   Run these logs through the barker so we can use them as fence posts.