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Glite Dictionary
🪠 A drain tool 🧑‍🔧 A plumber's assistant
plumber's helper

plumber's helper

4.1
A stick with a rubber cup used to clear blockages in drains
  • noun
  • /ˈplʌmbərz ˈhɛlpər/
  • Archaic
translation icon : desatascador
  • The plumber's helper proved effective for removing stubborn blockages in the toilet.

Examples

  • Before calling the plumber, she tried using the plumber's helper to fix the drain.

  • He used the plumber's helper to clear the clogged sink quickly.

  • I grabbed the plumber's helper out of the bathroom and tossed it at her.

    Fiction book (1992)

Synonyms

plunger
vsplumber's helper
18 2.8

A tool with a handle and rubber cup used to clear clogs in drains

is the same tool but described as a suction cup on a stick

How Effective

rodding
  • UK
7.7
plumber's snake
  • US
1 5.2
plumber's helper
  • Archaic
4.1
cleaner
108 1.0

Surface Forms

plumber's helper singular
plumber's helpers plural

Morphology

plumber's + helper

The meaning is directly derivable from 'plumber' (a tradesperson who fixes pipes) + 'helper' (someone who assists); the possessive marks an assistant role. This is a routine possessive + agent-noun composition common across languages, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents would readily understand it.

Etymology

Plumber's helper may come from the simple image of a small tool that 'helps' the plumber: a stick with a rubber suction cup that pulls clogs from sinks. That's why it means 'a tool with a rubber suction cup used to clear blockages from drains and pipes'.