hummer

noun

1. One who hums.

   “Judy hummed to herself. “My mother was a hummer,” LeVecque said, without looking at her.”

   “Will you be a singer or sad scared little hummer?”

2. (informal)A Humvee.
3. A type of vehicle resembling a jeep but bulkier.

   “The newlyweds took a hummer limo back to their casino resort.”

   “Some playa's^([sic]) had went^([sic]) all out, showing up in chauffeured Navigator and Hummer limousines.”

4. (informal)A hummingbird.

   “July roth saw the first spotted egg hardly larger than a “hummer's,” lying in the nest.”

   “The Sargents' status as hummingbird gurus is unrivaled and well deserved. They began banding hummers back in 1988, when, Bob says, there were only 28 other banders in the country.”

   “Between high mortality during the first year, natural disaster, pollution, habitat destruction, and the general decline in hummers that has been reported over the last couple of years (responses given to questions fielded by Bird Watchers indicate that there is a real hummer decline), I feel that I did the right thing by taking this bird in.”

5. (informal)A humdinger; something or someone exceptional or outstanding of their type.

   “"Ain't it a hummer of a day?" Jim exclaimed, suddenly, looking toward the valley swimming in a silver mist below us. "By Jiminy! it makes a man feel like living, don't it?"”

   “Dad's a real hummer at poker.”

   “Another report: “The queen that I had from you last year has proved a real hummer.”

   “As a salesman, before long, he became a real hummer, And the Monnig's concluded to make him a drummer.”

   “Neil said sorry to Mrs. Cooper, smiled and let go one of the worst silent-but-deadlies you could ever imagine. An absolute hummer.”

6. A machine that runs particularly well and smoothly.

   ““How'd you do with the rig?” Tater asked. Bubba did the sniff and wipe number again. “Piece a cake. That baby's a real hummer, Tater.””

   “You'll have to drive this here automobile; she is a real hummer.”

   “"It's not difficult to fly, and it's a real hummer. I don't know what size engines you'll want to install, but this bird will climb like a homesick angel to over 50,000 feet at 234 Lee Ecker.”

   “When he spotted Natalie descending the staircase, he begged her to try the elevator. "She's a running beauty," he said. “A real hummer now.””

7. (slang)A very energetic or lively person; a powerful lively thing.

   “I had a thousand liars, perjurers and villains call on me, and six genuine survivors of Lafitte's band; besides quite a delegation of widows and daughters and offspring of the late lamented pirate. No less than ten of his widows turned up; Jean must have been a hummer!”

   “He drinks, swears, smokes, plays cards, and when it comes to ragtime, my boy, he can beat any man on the stage. Oh, you bet he is a hummer, all right!”

8. (dated, slang)A place, event etc. that is bustling or full of activity.

   “[Heading: The Conferences] St. Joe was a hummer. It was largely attended, enthusiastic, and splendidly entertained by the pastor, Rev. J. Simons, and his people.”

   ““The best Reunion class of all will be back in Jersey on June 6 to 10, for a real off-year reunion, which will be a hummer.[…]””

   “The courtroom was a real hummer of activity.”

9. Something that generates a lot of attention, talk, and excitement.

   “Lansing Rubber Company Will Be Real Hummer”

   “Let us make this department a real hummer. Not a blessed club should be unrepresented. Even the most modest among us likes publicity.”

   “The opening paragraph is a real hummer: “ Every day thousands of military aviators go into the sky believing in an unspoken promise: that the military is doing all it can to keep them safe.”

   “Here's a real hummer for you: “Farewell to Scanlan's.” Give it some thought—forced visits with Hinckle & Zion, along with word-photos of earlier, happier visits in the old days.”

   “If you'll buy me a beer, I think I can give you some leads to a real hummer of a story.”

10. A fastball.

    “Branca, concentrating so intently that he didn't hear the braying crowd, threw a hummer down the middle.”

11. (slang)Fellatio, especially when the person performing the act vibrates their mouth by humming.

    “My mama says they make Danish jelly out of cow balls, man. Eating that's like giving a heifer a hummer.”

    “After all that bickering over Eddie Kissena, Charity goes into the ladies room and finds Denise Slater on her knees, giving him a hummer.”

12. Someone who upsets or irritates others; a trouble-maker or controversial figure.

    “Of all the onnery new galoots That come to Scrambletown that summer, The meanest cuss—you bet your boots— Was H.A. Jones. He was a hummer! This Jones he was the biggest liar In all that country, all aroun' ; And by the high celestial choir, The liars there was hard to down,—In Scrambletown.”

    “I nade not say that we do not want the wan whom a gang av political hummers and gutther-politicians have nominated.”

    “Anyway, this federal guy was a real hummer, because you know, he was from the government; and he was going to "show us" how this thing worked.”

    “This guy McCabe gave him a laugh, what a piece of work. A real hummer, but with the undeniable charisma Nick always associated with the Irish.”

    “Burns was a real hummer inside the Bureau, a bigtime cage rattler.”

13. (obsolete, slang, usually)The condition of having no money.

    “During the course of their restless, feverish careers they solicit insurance, collect for instalment houses, work advertising schemes, and finally land square on the hummer.”

    “"It's the crooks and the fourflushers who have put the boxing game on the hummer," the champion was saying.”

    “the failure of the powers that be for not doing some definite thing, and the pigheadedness of doing something else, all of which may have confused some of us and permitted the idea to gain foothold that America is about as close to being on the hummer as it can get without slipping over kerplunk.”

14. (obsolete, slang)An admirer.

    “The description therefore which the Duke of Ormond's correspondent gives of himself accords in no way with the early experience of the fluent extempore preacher whose eloquence roused Evelyn's enthusiasm, and was so generally admired that when he had preached the hour-glass out, his "hummers" used to encourage him to give them another hour of exhortation.”

15. A tantrum or fuss.

    “In 1970 she threw a real hummer in her widely acclaimed article for the New York Times entitled “And Don't Call Them 'Lady' Composers” which attacked the music establishment for its sexist practices and its willful dismissal of women's participation and achievement (Oliversos 1970).”

16. (obsolete, slang)A lie or tall tale.

    “It is not supposed that there is now, or that there ever was a man in Madison county who would willfully lie to hurt a fellow-man, or even to enhanced his own interests, but for your spinning yarns and big story telling, she has had some "hummers."”

    “"We'll 'salt' 'Paradise' and work her off for a hummer." "But that will be swindling," protested Clark.”

    “'Because I thought you'd told me a real hummer about Mr Playfair, and I was beastly to you, and then you only meant to be kind, but I called you a liar when I'm the liar, and then I saw them.”

17. (obsolete, slang)A liar.

    “The fine lady thinks she has wit, when she scandalizes her absent neighbours; and the hummer, when he hath told a lye with a grave face;”

18. (slang)Something that smells very bad.

    “[…] stench. It was a real hummer, that's for sure. The doc went back inside and returned moments later […]”

19. (slang)An arrest on false pretexts.

    “The conspiracy rap was a hummer.”

    “She mentioned the cute little Eyetalian cop that booked her on a hummer.”

20. A brand of sport utility vehicles sold by General Motors, and by extension, any large similar vehicle.

    “Hummers are a somewhat unusual sight in New York. The kinds of people who like them as status symbols often don’t like the city’s narrow, messy street configurations, which can be hard for bulky vehicles to manage.”

21. (slang)The HMMWV or Humvee, a US Army vehicle which replaced the Jeep.

    “"The vehicle is called the 'Hummer,' a contrived abbreviation of its official designation, 'High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle.'"”

    “"The Hummer, a clumsy, elongated vehicle the Army intended as a replacement for the hardy Jeep, developed so many problems it became known as the Bummer."”

    “"He made a point of not taking federal money for the district -- though by 1986 he was bragging about landing an Army contract to build the Hummer vehicle for a South Bend company."”

    “"A Hummer can carry four people."”

intj

1. (Cumbria, Yorkshire)A euphemism for the devil or the infernal regions

   “To hummer! wi th' 'flittin! let's have a pint”

   “Thoo gan ti hummer”

   “Hah the hummer did ta do it?”

   “Thee gah ta hummer, an' tak' thi auld nag wi' tha. Hummer it, Ah've knock't mi' finger nail off.”

name

1. A surname from German