camp robber
- noun
- /kæmp ˈrɑːbər/
- US
:
arrendajo canadiense
- Early campers nicknamed the Canada jay the camp robber because of its habit of raiding campsites.
Examples
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We were warned to keep our food sealed to avoid attracting camp robbers.
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The bold camp robber swooped down to steal a sandwich from the picnic table.
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The camp robber stole food from our picnic.
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Look at that camp robber over there!
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The camp robber swooped down to grab a piece of bread from my backpack.
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While hiking, I spotted a camp robber searching for food scraps near the campsite.
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A camp robber is known for boldly stealing snacks from hikers in the northern forests.
Synonyms
A bold grey-and-white bird with a black cap and no crest that lives in northern forests and steals food
A bird from northern forests with a black head that boldly takes food from people
A small gray bird found in northern forests that takes food from campsites
A bold jay from northern North America with a black cap that steals food
Surface Forms
Morphology
camp + robber
The compound is clearly built from 'camp' + 'robber' and literally denotes an agent that steals from camps; a B1 learner who knows both words can infer ‘one that robs camps’ and thus understand it refers to something that takes food from camps (here a bird). Even though the specific referent (a jay) is lexical knowledge, the compositional meaning is directly derivable from the constituents and follows common noun‑noun compound logic.
Etymology
Camp robber comes from early campers who watched the bold Canada jay fly into a camp and take food from tables and bags like a robber. So the name now means a jay that 'steals' food from campsites.
