beefer

English

Etymology

From beef +‎ -er.

Pronunciation

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -iːfə(ɹ)

Noun

beefer (plural beefers)

1. A cow used for beef and not milk.
   • 1916, Royal Association of British Dairy Farmers, Journal, volumes 30-32, page 89:

     We usually reckon if a cow does not respond to good food at the pail, that she is "putting it on her back"; that is, she fattens, and is thus more of a beefer than a milker, and should not be retained for milking purpose.

2. (slang) A police informer.
3. (slang) A person with a beefy build.
   • 2010, Vincenzo Spiaggi, A Tribute to His Heroes, page 325:

     "I'll bet. Well, is she? Fat, I mean."
     "Yeah. They ^[sic] gal's a real beefer."

Synonyms

• (police informer): See Thesaurus:informant

References

• Wright, Joseph (1898), The English Dialect Dictionary‎, volume 1, Oxford: Oxford University Press, page 221

Anagrams

• befree