DCHP-3

widow-maker

Esp. Lumbering, Slang
DCHP-1 (pre-1967)

Entry from the DCHP-1 (pre-1967)

This entry may contain outdated or offensive information, terms, and examples.

1n.

a loose limb, rampike, or dead tree which is apt to fall and injure somebody.

See: rampike

Quotations

1965
[Caption] Park rangers . . . get rid of a "widow-maker," a dead stub hung up over the trail.
2n. — Hardrock Mining

drill widow-maker. See quote.

Quotations

1964
A miner drilling widowmaker is one so careless that he neglects to use a water attachment on his drill to dampen down quartz dust, thus leaving himself vulnerable to the mining lung disease, silicosis.