damper

CEFRB2

/ˈdæmpɚ/

noun

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In plain English

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At a glance

Sits at B2 on the CEFR scale

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Extra meanings

A valve or movable plate in the flue or other part of a stove, furnace, etc., used to check or regulate the draught of air.
A contrivance (sordine), as in a pianoforte, to deaden vibrations; or, as in other pieces of mechanism, to check some action at a particular time.
Something that kills the mood.

In context

1827, Peter Cunningham, Two Years in New South Wales, ii.190, quoted in G. A. Wilkes, A Dictionary of Australian Colloquialisms, 1978, →ISBN, The farm-men usually bake their flour into flat cakes, which they call dampers, and cook these in the ashes.
Nor did Sabrina′s presence seem to act as any damper at the modest little festivities.
In general, steel springs were stipulated for primary suspension, although rubber was accepted for auxiliary springing; hydraulic dampers were specified and the use of laminated springs ruled out.

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The word in print, with each source given in full.

Nor did Sabrina′s presence seem to act as any damper at the modest little festivities.
1887, William Black, Sabina Zembra
In general, steel springs were stipulated for primary suspension, although rubber was accepted for auxiliary springing; hydraulic dampers were specified and the use of laminated springs ruled out.
1960 December, “The first hundred 25 kV a.c. electric locomotives for B.R.”, in Trains Illustrated, page 726
However, complaints quickly surfaced about the ride quality of the SIG BT41 bogies, which was only cured by the fitting of additional dampers to the bogies and couplers.
2022 September 21, Ben Jones, “IC225s: the Electras go gliding on”, in RAIL, number 966, page 40
The flour bespattering Squeaker's now neglected clothes spoke eloquently of his clumsy efforts at damper making.
1902, Barbara Baynton, edited by Sally Krimmer and Alan Lawson, Bush Studies (Portable Australian Authors: Barbara Baynton), St Lucia: University of Queensland Press, published 1980, page 15
You hypocritically claim that you are trying to ‘protect’ us; but your modern policy of ‘protection’ (so-called) is killing us off just as surely as the pioneer policy of giving us poisoned damper and shooting us down like dingoes!
1938, William Ferguson, John Patten, “Aborigines Claim Citizen Rights!”, in Anita Heiss, Peter Minter, editors, Macquarie PEN Anthology of Aboriginal Literature, Allen & Unwin, published 2008, page 31

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From damp (verb) + -er. The name of the type of bread is first attested in 1825, and originally likely refers to damping the appetite.