different between shagger vs stagger

English

Etymology

shag +? -er

Noun

shagger (plural shaggers)

1. One who shags.
   1. (slang) One who has sexual intercourse with many people.
      • 1997, The Bulletin, Issues 6061-6069, page 74,

        […] deracinated German, ace journalist and communist spy, compulsive cocktail drinker and serial shagger: the agent of penetration par excellence is engaging in sexual congress with a secretary from the German embassy in the Japanese capital.

      • 2006, Richard Hill, Richard Hill: The Autobiography, unnumbered page,

        ‘What do you want to be remembered for, being the best shaggers and drinkers or the best rugby players?’

      • 2007, Mick Quinn, Oliver Harvey, Who Ate All the Pies?: The Life and Times of Mick Quinn, page 69,

        There would be card schools, too, and when we overnighted the shaggers among the lads would be sniffing after everything in a skirt.

   2. One who catches and returns a ball, usually out of play; one who fetches played balls; one who fetches shot game.
      • 1980, Ken Dugan, Secrets of Coaching Championship Baseball, page 24,

        The shagger is placed in this position to avoid the danger of his being hit by a batted ball.

      • 1983, Bob Brister, Doves Galore, Field & Stream, page 61,

        As we arrived at the grainfield a covey of little Mexican boys swarmed in from all directions, waving and yelling and climbing on the bumpers, vying for jobs as bird shaggers. Birds were darting low over the vehicles and somebody got excited and started shooting right there, bringing the kids racing for the fallen birds, because whoever got one had a job for sure.

      • 1995, Mario Pagnoni, Gerald Robinson, Softball: Fast and Slow Pitch, page 100,

        As soon as the outfielder releases the throw to the shagger, a second ball is fungoed and the fielder must react quickly, […] .

      • 2011, Jim McLean, Tom McCarthy, The Complete Hogan: A Shot-by-Shot Analysis of Golf?s Greatest Swing, unnumbered page,

        He always had a shagger, a caddy who put the shag bag right in front of his feet.

2. One who dances the shag; a jazz dancer.
   • 2012, Renee Wright, Myrtle Beach & South Carolina?s Grand Strand, Explorer?s Guides, unnumbered page,

     The first gathering proved so successful that SOS has expanded to a year-round schedule of events, including annual ten-day Spring Safaris and Fall Migrations, attracting up to 10,000 shaggers at a time, plus weekend gatherings in winter and summer.

Derived terms

• ball shagger, shagger's back, sheepshagger

English

Etymology

From Middle English stageren, stakeren, from Old Norse stakra (“to push, stagger”). Cognate with dialectal Danish stagre.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?stæ??/?
• (US) IPA^(key): /?stæ??/
• Rhymes: -æ??(r)

Noun

stagger (plural staggers)

1. An unsteady movement of the body in walking or standing as if one were about to fall; a reeling motion
   • 7 October 2012, Paolo Bandini in The Guardian, Denver Broncos 21 New England Patriots 31 - as it happened

     Put down the rosary beads folks, I believe hell may just have frozen over. Peyton Manning drops back, sees nothing open and runs for a first down. If you can call that running. More like the stagger of a wounded rhino. Did the job, though

   • 1861, Ellen Wood, East Lynne Chapter 39

     Afy slowly gathered in the sense of the words. She gasped twice, as if her breath had gone, and then, with a stagger and a shiver, fell heavily to the ground.

   • 1843, Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol Stave 2

     And when old Fezziwig and Mrs. Fezziwig had gone all through the dance; advance and retire; both hands to your partner, bow and courtesy, corkscrew, thread the needle, and back again to your place; Fezziwig "cut"—cut so deftly that he appeared to wink with his legs, and came upon his feet again without a stagger.

2. (veterinary medicine) A disease of horses and other animals, attended by reeling, unsteady gait or sudden falling

3. Bewilderment; perplexity.
4. The spacing out of various actions over time.
   • 19 April 2016, Rachel Roddy in The Guardian, Rachel Roddy’s Roman spring vegetable stew recipe

     I don’t include cured pork, although it is very nice, and rather than putting everything in the pan at once I prefer a stagger of ingredients, which ensures each one gets the right amount of time.

5. (motor racing) The difference in circumference between the left and right tires on a racing vehicle. It is used on oval tracks to make the car turn better in the corners.
6. (aviation) The horizontal positioning of a biplane, triplane, or multiplane's wings in relation to one another.

Translations

Verb

stagger (third-person singular simple present staggers, present participle staggering, simple past and past participle staggered)

1. Sway unsteadily, reel, or totter.
   1. (intransitive) In standing or walking, to sway from one side to the other as if about to fall; to stand or walk unsteadily; to reel or totter.

      She began to stagger across the room.

      • Deep was the wound; he staggered with the blow.

   2. (transitive) To cause to reel or totter.

      The powerful blow of his opponent's fist staggered the boxer.
   3. (intransitive) To cease to stand firm; to begin to give way; to fail.
      • 1708, Joseph Addison, The Present State of the War, and the Necessity of an Augmentation

        The enemy staggers.

2. Doubt, waver, be shocked.
   1. (intransitive) To begin to doubt and waver in purposes; to become less confident or determined; to hesitate.

      • He [Abraham] staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief.

   2. (transitive) To cause to doubt and waver; to make to hesitate; to make less steady or confident; to shock.

      He will stagger the committee when he presents his report.

      • 1640, James Howell, England's Teares for the present Warres

        whosoever will be curious to read the future story of this intricate war , if it be possible to compile a story of it , he will find himself much staggered.

      • 1796, Edmund Burke, a letter to a noble lord

        Grants to the house of Russell were so enormous, as not only to outrage economy, but even to stagger credibility.

3. (transitive) Have multiple groups doing the same thing in a uniform fashion, but starting at different, evenly-spaced, times or places (attested from 1856).
   1. To arrange (a series of parts) on each side of a median line alternately, as the spokes of a wheel or the rivets of a boiler seam.
   2. To arrange similar objects such that each is ahead or above and to one side of the next.

      We will stagger the starting positions for the race on the oval track.

   3. To schedule in intervals.

      We will stagger the run so the faster runners can go first, then the joggers.

Translations

See also

• bestagger
• staggeringly
• staggers

References

Anagrams

• gagster, gargets, taggers