backscratcher

See also: back scratcher

English

Woman and man using backscratcher

Alternative forms

• back scratcher

Etymology

From back +‎ scratcher; also, by surface analysis, backscratch +‎ -er.

Pronunciation

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Noun

backscratcher (plural backscratchers)

2. A long slender rod with a rake-like device on one end, sometimes in the form of a human hand, designed to let a person scratch their own back.

   Hypernyms: scratcher < device

   Coordinate term: head-scratcher

4. (figurative, uncommon) A participant in corruption, such as a briber or pay-to-play participant.
   • 2011, Laurence Plévert, “Team Leader”, in Pierre-Gilles de Gennes: A Life in Science‎^[1], World Scientific, →ISBN, pages 119-120:

     Pierre-Gilles had made a name for himself, but also wanted to give credit to his collaborators, whom he was always careful to cite in lectures, to the point that, for a joke, Daniel Saint-James and his colleague Gobalakichena Sarma created a "backscratchers club" named the 'Société de la brosse à reluire mutuelle' (SABRM) — mutual backscratching society — appointing Pierre-Gilles as its honorary chairman. The members of this club, which included the other musketeers, numerous physicists from Saclay, etc., were obliged to mention the other members in all their lectures, even if they hadn't contributed to the results!

Related terms

• backscratching
• scratch someone's back
• you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours

Translations

rod for scratching one's own back

• Catalan: grataesquena m
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 不求人 (bat¹ kau⁴ jan⁴, literally “not to seek help from others”)

  Hokkien: 抓耙仔 (jiàu-pê-á, liàu-pê-á), 不求人 (put-kiû-jîn, put-kiû-lîn), 孫仔手 / 孙仔手 (sun-á-chhiú), 阿孫手 / 阿孙手 (a-sun-chhiú)

  Mandarin: 抓耙子 (zhuāpázi, literally “scratching rake”), 癢癢撓 / 痒痒挠 (yǎngyangnáo), 笑刷兒 / 笑刷儿 (xiàoshuār), 爪仗 (zhǎozhàng, literally “claw to rely on”), 不求人 (zh) (bùqiúrén, literally “not to seek help from others”), 老頭樂 / 老头乐 (zh) (lǎotóulè), 搔背爬 (sāobèipá)

• Dutch: ruggenkrabber m (literally “back scratcher”)
• Finnish: selänrapsutin (literally “back scratcher”)
• French: gratte-dos (fr) m
• Georgian: ქლესა (klesa)
• German: Rückenkratzer m (literally “back scratcher”)
• Hebrew: מַגְרֵד גַּב m (magréd gav, literally “back scratcher”), מַגְרֵד m (magréd, literally “scratcher”)
• Hungarian: hátvakaró (hu) (literally “back scratcher”)
• Icelandic: bakklóra f
• Italian: grattaschiena m (literally “back scratcher”), manina f (literally “small hand”)
• Japanese: 孫の手 (ja) (まごのて, mago no te, literally “grandchild's hand”)
• Korean: 효자손 (hyojason, literally “dutiful son's hand”), 등긁이 (deunggeulgi), 등긁개 (deunggeulgae)
• Latin: scalptōrium n
• Portuguese: coça-costas m
• Russian: па́лка для чеса́ния спины́ f (pálka dlja česánija spiný)
• Spanish: rascaespalda m (literally “back scratcher”), rascador de espaldas m (literally “back scratcher”)
• Tagalog: pangamot ng likod
• Thai: ไม้เกาหลัง (máai-gao-lǎng)
• Welsh: peth crafu cefn m (literally “back scratching thing”)