shanghaier

9.9

A person who drugs or tricks men to force them to work on a ship

noun
/ˈʃæŋˌhaɪər/

NSFW

: secuestrador

In the nineteenth century, sailors feared falling prey to a shanghaier in port cities.

Examples

The notorious shanghaier prowled the docks, searching for unsuspecting victims.
After awakening on a foreign vessel, he realized he'd been taken by a shanghaier.
The shanghaier lured sailors with promises of good pay.
Many shanghaier operations were reported in the 19th century.
In the nineteenth century, sailors feared falling prey to a shanghaier in port cities.
The notorious shanghaier prowled the docks, searching for unsuspecting victims.
After awakening on a foreign vessel, he realized he'd been taken by a shanghaier.

Synonyms

seizer

vsshanghaier

Offensive

9.9

A person who kidnaps men to force them to work on a ship

includes trickery as well rather than only drugging

crimp

vsshanghaier

NSFW

9.9

A person who tricks or forces men into joining a ship's crew

focuses only on forcing men into ship service rather than military roles

crimper

vsshanghaier

NSFW

9.9

A person who tricks or forces men to work as sailors

is not limited to the nineteenth century context

Antonyms

rescuer

64 1.4

A person who saves people or animals from danger

How Coercive

kidnapper

NSFW

173 4.0

shanghaier

NSFW

9.9

press gang

Archaic

9.7

recruiter

49 2.9

Surface Forms

shanghaier singular

shanghaiers plural

Morphology

shanghaier = shanghai (transparent) = shanghai + er

Agentive '-er' added to the verb 'shanghai' yields a person who performs that action, so the meaning is directly recoverable.

Etymology

Shanghaier comes from the Chinese city Shanghai, because in the 1800s some men were secretly taken onto ships that were going to Shanghai. So a shanghaier came to mean a person who tricks or drugs men and 'sends' them to sea to work on a ship.