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Glite Dictionary
💡 An idea suggester 😜 A prankster ⚾ A baseball pitcher
spitballer

spitballer

9.4
A person who throws small wet paper balls at others as a prank
  • noun
  • /ˈspɪtˌbɔlər/
  • Informal
translation icon : lanzador de bolas de papel
  • The teacher quickly spotted the spitballer and sent him to the principal's office.

Examples

  • No one wanted to sit near the spitballer because they feared getting hit by a paper wad.

  • During lunch, a notorious spitballer caused chaos in the cafeteria.

  • That spitballer really knows how to annoy the teacher!

  • He is the biggest spitballer in our class.

  • The student was known as the biggest spitballer in school after hitting several classmates with paper wads.

  • When the spitballer made his move, laughter erupted as paper balls flew across the classroom.

  • Everyone tried to avoid sitting next to the spitballer during the lesson to stay safe from the surprise attacks.

Synonyms

prankster
vsspitballer
24 4.1

A person who plays tricks on people to make them laugh

is specific to doing those pranks by tossing wet paper balls
thrower
vsspitballer
14 2.2

A person who sends a thing through the air with a quick arm movement, for example a javelin athlete

is about tossing small wet paper balls as a childish prank
slinger
vsspitballer
6 9.3

A person who throws stones using a leather strap and small bag

is about hand tossing small wet paper balls rather than using a sling
flinger
vsspitballer
1 6.1

A person or machine that throws things quickly and strongly

is done gently and playfully by tossing small wet paper balls
chucker
vsspitballer
  • Jargon
1 7.8

A person who throws a ball, like a pitcher

is playful and uses light wet paper projectiles rather than powerful skilled throws
screwballer
vsspitballer
  • Jargon
7.9

A baseball pitcher who throws a pitch that curves toward the pitcher's arm side

is about childish pranks with wet paper balls rather than professional pitching

Surface Forms

spitballer singular
spitballers plural

Morphology

spitballer = spitball (transparent) = spit + ball + er

The agentive suffix '-er' clearly forms a person who throws spitballs, and the base word itself is a literal, easily interpretable compound.

Etymology

Spitballer can mean a child who throws small wet paper wads called spitballs, named because people often used spit to make the paper sticky. So a spitballer is simply 'one who throws spitballs' as a prank.