Skip to main content
backscratcher

backscratcher

2 4.4
A long-handled tool for scratching parts of your back you cannot reach
  • noun
  • /ˈbækˌskrætʃər/
translation icon : rascador de espalda
  • You can easily relieve an itch with a long-handled backscratcher.

Examples

  • Inch-tall green words floated on an otherwise darkened screen: "A man's reach should exceed his grasp, else what's a backscratcher for?"

    Fiction book (2002)
  • Here's a move I call the backscratcher.

  • Give the backscratcher.

  • It was like having somebody rubbing you softly with a backscratcher all over your body.

    Fiction book (2001)
  • I bought a backscratcher to help reach the itchy spots on my back.

  • After a long day's work, using a backscratcher is quite satisfying.

Synonyms

scratcher
vsbackscratcher
5 4.4

A tool used to rub an itch or let a pet make marks on furniture

is long handled to reach body areas hands cannot reach

How Reachable

reacher
5 4.9
backscratcher
2 4.4
fingernail
164 1.0

Surface Forms

backscratcher singular

Morphology

backscratcher = back + scratcher (transparent) = back + scratch + er

Formed by compounding 'back' + 'scratcher' (scratcher = scratch + -er); the tool meaning is directly predictable from the parts.

Etymology

Backscratcher comes from the two simple words back ('the part of the body behind you') and scratch ('to rub the skin with nails or a tool'). So a backscratcher is a long-handled tool used to reach and scratch an itchy place on your back that your hand cannot reach.