Meaning & use
hayshaker
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Meanings
nouncountableinformalAmericanold-fashioneddisapproving
An informal, old-fashioned American word for a farmer or country person, used as an insult suggesting rough rural manners.
Grammar: Countable noun: a hayshaker, two hayshakers.
Patterns
- call someone a hayshaker
- a bunch of hayshakers
In the old cowboy movies, the townspeople called the farmers hayshakers.
He joked that his cousins were just a bunch of hayshakers from the next county.
nouncountableregionalrare
A person who works on a farm, especially one who handles hay, used without insult in some rural areas.
Grammar: Countable noun; this neutral use is rare and mostly regional.
Patterns
- work as a hayshaker
My grandfather was a hayshaker on a small dairy farm before the war.
The neighbors hired a hayshaker to help bring in the summer crop.
Word forms
| plural | hayshakers |
|---|
Common combinations
- a bunch of hayshakers
- The cowboys laughed at a bunch of hayshakers at the dance.
- call someone a hayshaker
- You shouldn't call someone a hayshaker just because they live on a farm.
- old hayshaker
- The old hayshaker told stories about working the fields all day.
Synonyms and how they differ
- hayseed
- Hayseed is a more common American insult for an unsophisticated country person; hayshaker is rarer and sounds older.
- yokel
- Yokel is a similar insult but is used more in British English and does not specifically suggest farm work.
- farmer
- Farmer is the neutral, respectful word; use it instead of hayshaker in normal polite speech.
Commonly confused: hayshaker or haymaker?
hayshaker vs haymaker
A haymaker is a powerful swinging punch (or a machine that cuts hay), not a country person. The two words sound similar but mean very different things.
Practice
In old American cowboy slang, what did the word "hayshaker" most often mean?
Choose one answer.
"Hayshaker" was cowboy slang for a farmer or country person, usually said in a mocking way. A machine for hay would be a haymaker or hay tedder, and it was not a horse or a dance.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “hayshaker”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.