howler

Meaning

1. That which howls, especially an animal such as a wolf or a howler monkey.
2. (historical) A person hired to howl in mourning at a funeral.
3. (slang) A painfully obvious mistake.
4. (slang) A hilarious joke.
5. (slang) A bitterly cold day.
6. A person who expresses aggression openly in the form of threats.
7. (figuratively, sometimes) A heavy fall.
8. (slang) A serious accident (especially to come a howler or go a howler; compare come a cropper).
9. (slang) A tremendous lie (especially an obvious one); a whopper.
10. (dated, slang) A fashionably but extravagantly overdressed man, a "howling swell".
11. (historical) A 32-ounce ceramic, plastic, or stainless steel jug used to transport draft beer.
12. (slang) A small child.

Synonyms

howler monkey

blooper

slip

wow

sidesplitter

thigh-slapper

riot

belly laugh

scream

😱

foul-up

fuckup

gaucherie

goof

hailer

malpractice

misstep

mistake

mistook

mix-up

mourner

muff

slip-up

solecism

stumble

trip

weeper

trip-up

bloomer

blunder

boner

boo-boo

contretemps

error

failing

fault

Translations

bourde

strafalcione

aullador

Stilblüte

Kathederblüte

crier

Missgriff

error

λάθος

γκάφα

ουρλάζων

ρωγμή/ρήγμα/ρηγμάτωση/ελάττωμα/βραχυκύκλωμα/σφάλμα

Klops

crime

Verwechselung

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈhaʊlɚ/

Etymology

From howl + -er. Some senses are derivatives of the intensifier "howling", as in "howling wilderness", (Deuteronomy 32:10)