ˈsquawker
[f. squawk v. + -er.]
1. A toy wind-instrument for producing squawks.
| 1874 J. W. Long Amer. Wild-fowl ix. 157, I like ‘calling by mouth’ much better than with a ‘squawker’, especially if the ducks are passing reasonably close. 1886 Sci. Amer. 25 Sept. 199 The small inflatable balloons applied to the toy squawkers. |
2. One who squawks.
| 1891 in Cent. Dict. 1896 G. B. Shaw Let. 8 Dec. (1965) I. 712 Yes, Lena is a fascinating squawker. 1923 H. C. Witwer in Collier's 29 July 26/3 To show you what a cheap squawker this Rags is, Spence tells me he has just welshed on a bet with him. |
3. A loudspeaker designed to reproduce accurately sounds in the middle of the audible range.
| 1959 N. H. Crowhurst Basic Audio I. 67 Many installations use two or more speakers of different sizes..: large speakers (woofers) for the low frequencies, medium-sized speakers (squawkers) for the mid-range, and small speakers (tweeters) for the high frequencies. 1975 G. J. King Audio Handbk. vi. 150 The output..drives the middle-frequency unit (squawker) and the high-frequency unit (tweeter) via a 4 kHz frequency divider. |