kerb crawler
- noun
- /kɜrb ˈkrɔlər/
- NSFW
:
cazador de acera
- The police arrested a kerb crawler who was seen slowly driving along the street at night.
Examples
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Legislation was introduced to tackle the problem of kerb crawlers in urban areas.
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Local residents have complained about kerb crawlers disturbing their neighborhood.
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The police arrested a kerb crawler during their late-night patrol through the city.
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The police arrested a kerb crawler last night.
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Many kerb crawlers were spotted in the area.
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Legislation was introduced to address the issue of kerb crawlers looking for prostitutes in city areas.
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Local families fear that kerb crawlers might disrupt the peace in their quiet neighborhood after dark.
Synonyms
2
9.9
A man who often pays prostitutes for sex
Surface Forms
Morphology
The components 'kerb' (curb) and 'crawler' (one who moves slowly) transparently suggest someone moving slowly along the kerb, so a B1 learner could infer the physical action. However, the conventionalized sense 'drives slowly to solicit sex from prostitutes' is a culture-specific, pragmatic extension not predictable from the parts alone (and tied to British usage), so full meaning requires prior exposure.
Etymology
The noun kerb crawler paints a clear picture: the kerb is the edge of the road and the crawler suggests a car moving very slowly along that edge at night while looking for prostitutes. So it means 'a person who drives slowly along the curb to solicit sex from prostitutes'.