dangler

From dangle + -er.

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈdæŋɡləː/
• (General American, without æ-raising) IPA^(key): /ˈdæŋɡlɚ/
  • (æ-raising) IPA^(key): /ˈdeɪ̯ŋɡlɚ/, /ˈdɛ̃ŋɡlɚ/
• Rhymes: -æŋɡlə(ɹ)
• Hyphenation: dan‧gler

dangler (plural danglers)

2. (grammar, informal) A dangling modifier, especially a dangling participle.
   • 2014, Silvia M. Rogers, Mastering Scientific and Medical Writing: A Self-help Guide, page 43:

     Similarly, participles ending in “ing” often cause danglers in scientific writing: […]

3. (slang) Any body part that dangles, such as the penis, testicles, uvula, and sometimes tongue.

   "Why do I have to feed her? Why do I have to look after her? I'm a girl. Ort doesn't have to 'cause he's a boy, 'cause he's got a dangler and I haven't."

   • 2000 January 18, cormaic, “Wildlife Ponds”, in uk.rec.gardening‎^[1] (Usenet):

     Stupid kitten! First he thought he was a fish, now he thinks he's a mole. The vet says it's because he's missing one of his danglers.

5. A plotline that is metaphorically left to "dangle" or "hang"; in other words, the plotline is forgotten, phased out and eventually dropped, and thus a resolution is never achieved.
7. (informal) A large earring that hangs down far.
   • 1985, Susi Rogol, Create a Look with Jewelry, page 22:

     Long hair piled high on top of the head or cut to a short, curvy crop, needs the balance provided by large, dramatic earrings. Those with tresses frizzed into Pre-Raphaelite waves will like the look of huge hoops or ethnic danglers in wood […]

9. (now rare, archaic) One who dangles about (loiters around) others, especially a man chasing after women.
   • 1770, Frances Burney, Journals & Letters, Penguin 2001, 10 January:

     ‘You see,’ she cried, ‘what a Herd of Danglers flutter around you […].’

   • 1783, Samuel Hoole, Aurelia; Or, the Contest:

     Such once was I, a dangler to the fair; / Still, as a glass, I praise their dress, their air […]

• Glander, Le Grand, Legrand, gnarled, rangled