handler
(ˈhændlə(r))
[f. handle v. + -er1.]
1. a. One who handles (in lit. and fig. senses: see handle v.1). In Football, One who plays ‘Rugby’.
| 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. viii. xiii. (1495) 320 Chaungers handlers of syluer. 1540 Coverdale Confut. Standish Wks. (Parker Soc.) II. 429 An unreverent handler of God's word. 1607 Topsell Four-f. Beasts (1658) 177 A cunning Archer or handler of a Gun. 1663 Blair Autobiog. ii. (1848) 25 Outgivings to traders and handlers in this Kingdom. 1889 Pall Mall G. 16 Mar. 3/1 The rough play which has prevailed this winter, both among the dribblers and the handlers. |
b. Something that has a specified feel when handled: cf. handle v.1 1 b.
| 1848 Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. IX. ii. 444 They..are often bad handlers, and slow feeders. |
2. spec. a. One who holds and sets on a dog or a game-cock in a fight or contest; one who shows the points of dogs at a trial, etc.
| 1825 Hone Every-day Bk. I. 996 The..dogs darted at the..lion, amid the horrid din of the cries of their handlers. 1828 Marly Life Planter Jamaica (ed. 2) 320 In the temporary cock-pit..The handlers made their appearance. 1897 Field 6 Feb. 168/1 Each hound has a handler. They work the dogs in front of the judges. 1931 Our Dogs 23 Oct. 296 Handlers and Breakers. Gun dogs wanted for training or boarding. 1959 Times 18 Sept. 7/5 Of the nine handlers who took part in the opening event—the hired shepherds' championship—only two failed to complete the course. |
b. A police officer who is in charge of a trained dog.
| 1959 B. J. Farmer Murder Next Year xxi. 134, I know Sergeant Cristobel... He's handler for a trained Alsatian. 1962 Times 29 Dec. 6/7 Minivans..containing two highly trained police dogs with their handlers. 1971 B. Callison Plague of Sailors 10 They're not dogs, they're bloody werewolves. What d'you handlers do for leave, spend it in the bloody jungle? |
c. Boxing. (See quot. 1961.)
| 1950 J. Dempsey Championship Fighting 9 His handlers threw in the towel. 1960 Times 1 Sept. 4/4 It took several seconds of rough first aid by his handlers before he was able to regain his seat. 1961 J. S. Salak Dict. Amer. Sports 216 Handlers, the chief second and assistant seconds of a boxer during a contest. 1973 Sunday Express (Trinidad & Tobago) 8 Apr. 29/2 (caption) One of his handlers..is near tears after Ali lost a 12 round non-title bout. |
3. Tanning. A pit containing a weak tannin infusion, in which the hides are ‘handled’: see handle v.1 2 c.
| 1777 Macbride in Phil. Trans. LXVIII. 115 The leather is ready for the ooze, and at first is thrown into smaller holes, which are termed handlers. 1879 Cassell's Techn. Educ. v. 311 The pits containing the weakest solutions are called ‘handlers’. |
4. [f. handle v.2] A workman who fastens the handles to vessels, tools, etc.; a hafter.
| 1598 Florio, Manicatore..a sleeuer, a hafter, a handler. 1881 Porcelain Works, Worcester 21 The turner..having completed the form of the cup it is passed to the Handler. |