thagomizer

• thagomiser

Coined by cartoonist Gary Larson in 1982. His comic strip (image on the right) shows a caveman giving a lecture illustrating this part of a dinosaur, with the caption "Now this end is called the thagomizer... after the late Thag Simmons". See -ize, -er.

• IPA^(key): /ˈθæɡ.ə.maɪ.zəɹ/

• Audio (RP)

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thagomizer (plural thagomizers)

1. An arrangement of spikes found on the tails of various stegosaurs.
   • 2001, Holtz, Thomas R.; Riley, Terry, The Little Giant Book of Dinosaurs, page 54:

     Like the thagomizer of the stegosaur, the ankylosaurid tail club was probably used to smash into attackers.

   • 2008 August 1, Jeffrey, Gary, Stegosaurus: The Plated Dinosaur, Rosen Publishing Group, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, →OL, page 30:

     An Allosaurus backbone had a hole in which a Stegosaurus thagomizer fitted perfectly. Over the years, many of the fossil thagomizers that have been dug up have had broken tips.

   • 2008 September 17, Simmons, L. E., The Lady of Gold (SnapDragon Adventures 1), First edition, Lulu.com, →ISBN, →LCCN, page 135:

     "Not like that," Snap growled, raising her four fists, swishing her thagomizer around threateningly.

For more quotations using this term, see Citations:thagomizer.