piker

English edit

Etymology edit

From pike +‎ -er. In some senses, it has been linked etymologically to the word pikey^[1] as well as to Pike County in eastern Missouri [1]. In the latter instance the term originally denoted poor immigrants to California.

Pronunciation edit

IPA^(key): /ˈpaɪkə(ɹ)/
Audio (AU) (file)
Rhymes: -aɪkə(ɹ)

Noun edit

piker (plural pikers)

(military, historical) A soldier armed with a pike, a pikeman.
- 1974, Thomas Keneally, Blood Red, Sister Rose, page 82:
  Upstairs in a waiting room there were pikers whose tunics echoed Baudricourt′s gold lion shield painted up and down the rafters.
- 2008, Cathal J. Nolan, Wars of the Age of Louis XIV, 1650-1715: An Encyclopedia of Global Warfare and Civilization, page 363:
  By 1600, the ratio of pikers to gunmen was roughly 3:2. By mid-century the ratio was only 1:2, and by 1670 there was just one piker to every three gunmen in the French Army.
One who bets or gambles only with small amounts of money.
- 1899, Stephen Crane, chapter 1, in Twelve O'Clock:
  “[…] Them rich fellers, they don't make no bad breaks with their money. They watch it all th' time b'cause they know blame well there ain't hardly room fer their feet fer th' pikers an' tin-horns an' thimble-riggers what are layin' fer 'em. […]”
- 1921, B. M. Bower, Cow Country, published 2004, page 79:
  Bud swelled his chest and laid his hand on Jeff′s shoulder. “Just to show you I′m not a piker,” he cried recklessly, “I′ll bet you twenty-five dollars I can beat your Skeeter with my Smoky horse that I rode in here. Is it a go?”
- 1999, Lael Morgan, Good Time Girls of the Alaska-Yukon Gold Rush, page 96:
  “Now, boys,” said Marie walking up and down the bar, once or twice lifting her skirt to her knees and laughing. “The last bid′s $5,000. Say, ain′t you pikers a-goin′ to bid higher than that for this?" And another flick of her skirts. “Here′s a nice plump chicken awaiting for a home.”
A stingy person; a cheapskate.
- 1916, Richard Harding Davis, The Man Who Could Not Lose, published 2008, page 22:
  “And if you′ve got to be a piker,” said Dolly, “don′t be ashamed to be a piker. We′re not spending a hundred dollars because we can afford it, but because you dreamt a dream.”
- 2000, Peter L. Bernstein, The Power of Gold: The History of an Obsession, page 218:
  The golden nuggets in the stream at Sutter′s Mill in California made Croesus look like a piker, and Australia, the Klondike, and South Africa were yet to come.
- 2006, Thomas Pynchon, Against the Day, Vintage, published 2007, page 604:
  Whatever else this cupcake might be up to, she was no piker. For everything the Q′s ordered, she added on more of the same.
An amateur.
(Australia) A bullock living in the wild. (Also used attributively.) [from 19th c.]
- 2002, Alex Miller, Journey to the Stone Country, Allen & Unwin, published 2003, page 269:
  ‘There's always a few old piker bullocks find their way into this country. But mostly cattle don't come this far.’
(Australia, New Zealand, slang) One who refuses to go out with friends, or leaves a party early; a spoilsport or "chicken". [from 20th c.]
Mate, don't be a piker! Come to Angie′s birthday party tonight!
(Australia, New Zealand, slang) One who pikes (quits or backs out of a promise).
(US, dated) A male freshman at Cornell University.
A tramp; a vagrant.
Synonym: pike

Quotations edit

The 2000 film Boiler Room makes reference to "pikers" in the following excerpt:

So now you know what's possible, let me tell you what's required. You are required to work your fucking ass off at this firm. We want winners here, not pikers. A piker walks at the bell. A piker asks how much vacation time you get in the first year. Vacation time? People come to work at this firm for one reason: to become filthy rich; that's it. We're not here to make friends; we're not saving the fucking manatees here, guys. You want vacation time, go teach third grade at a public school. (wav, mp3)