peashooter

See also: pea-shooter

English
WOTD – 27 January 2024

Etymology
A man using a peashooter (sense 1) in Paris, France.

From pea +‎ shooter.[1]

Pronunciation
  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈpiːˌʃuːtə(ɹ)/
  • Audio (Southern England)(file)
  • (General American) IPA(key): /ˈpiˌʃutəɹ/, [-ɾəɹ]
  • Hyphenation: pea‧shoot‧er

Noun

peashooter (plural peashooters)

  1. A toy weapon consisting of a tube through which dried peas or small objects are blown.
    Synonyms: beanshooter, bean-shooter
  2. A person who uses such a device.
  3. (weaponry, slang) Any small or ineffective gun or weapon.
    • 2012, Wayne Greenough, The Ferguson Murder, page 41:
      Compared to my forty-five, it's a toy. Christ, Thanet, why did you buy it in the first place? I would have given you one of mine, a real weapon, one with knock down power, compared to that peashooter on your hip.

Alternative forms

Hypernyms
  • peashooting

Translations

References
  1. “pea-shooter, n.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, July 2023; “pea-shooter, n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

Further reading
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