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Body snatcher
Definitions
- 1 One who makes arrests, such as a bailiff or policeman. derogatory, humorous, obsolete, slang
"They proved to be two of those Body-Snatchers, called hired Constables, who were patrolling the Fields."
- 2 someone who takes bodies from graves and sells them for anatomical dissection wordnet
- 3 One who abducts or controls another's body, such as a slaver, psychic, or human resources agent.
"A black woman told Carrie not to say master and missis, because you were body-snatchers and slave-drivers."
- 4 One who sells cadavers to anatomists, surgeons, etc., especially by exhuming corpses from graves, a resurrection man. historical
"Body-snatcher, a stealer of dead bodies from churchyards; which are sold to the surgeons and students in anatomy."
- 5 A graverobber who steals bodies or body parts.
"The head of a ring of bodysnatchers who stole the bones of broadcaster Alistair Cooke pleaded guilty yesterday."
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- 6 A stretcher-bearer. British, slang
"No men could have behaved more admirably than my Imperial bearer companies, or 'body snatchers,' as the men used to call them."
Etymology
From body + snatcher. Later use highly influenced by the novel The Body Snatchers (1955) and its repeated adaptation into film, wherein aliens begin replacing humans with pod people.
See also for "body snatcher"
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Unscramble this word: bodysnatcher