splatter-gun

See also: splattergun and splatter gun

English

Alternative forms

• splattergun
• splatter gun

Etymology

splatter +‎ gun

Noun

splatter-gun (plural splatter-guns)

1. A shotgun, assault weapon, or other gun that repeatedly fires quickly and in an imprecise fashion.
   • 2000, Harold Covington, Slow Coming Dark: A Novel of the Age of Clinton, →ISBN:

     Mr. Vee here has his Makarov and his Sicilian splatter-gun on the sling there, plus what, exactly, is that? Looks like an AK47 frame, but what the hell is that barrel?

   • 2011, Rodolphus, The Wolf Doth Grin, →ISBN:

     "That splatter-gun won't avail thee none, old man,” Bianca said.

   • 2011, Malcom Dome, Mick Wall, Metallica: The Music and the Mayhem, →ISBN:

     Fading in on the screech of a magnificently over-wrought electric guitar, the drums arrive like a splatter-gun, the riff chewed up and spat out without ceremony over six-and-a- half minutes of angry hell.

   • 2013, Robert L Reid, The Manual of Australian Agriculture, →ISBN, page 377:

     Foliar application with splatter-gun.

Adjective

splatter-gun (not comparable)

1. Not systematic; Characterized by trying many different things.
   • 2004, Sue Cowley, Getting the Buggers to Think, →ISBN, page 61:

     Encourage the 'splatter-gun' effect: The aim here is literally to 'splatter' thoughts onto the page, in a similar way to the stream of consciousness (see Chapter 7).

   • 2011, Edward S. Robinson, Shift Linguals: Cut-up Narratives from William S. Burroughs to the Present, →ISBN:

     It could therefore be argued that Hitchin – and Kwo, and Siratori – are only able to produce not only the kind of writing they specialise in, but also the volume of work that is, intentionally or otherwise, integral to their splatter-gun approach because of the technology available now.

   • 2012, Veronica Henry, The Long Weekend, →ISBN:

     His past was a patchwork splatter-gun portfolio of überglamorous and harrowing, as he and his mother lurched from squalor to splendour, depending on her moods and who she was squiring.

   • 2012, Peter Hawkins, No Regrets on Sunday: The Seven-Day Plan to Change Your Life, →ISBN:

     Rather than taking a splatter-gun approach, Stuart decided to target his efforts on a career within the actuarial industry.

   • 2016, Matt Potter, F**k You And Goodbye: The History of the World in Resignation Letters, →ISBN:

     That's when they just let go and do the multidirectional splatter-gun thing on an employer who's been asking for it. Who doesn't love hammering those out at the end of a long day?