blubber

present singular third person blubbers · participle present blubbering · participle past blubbered · past blubbered · first person past singular blubbered · archaic present second person singular blubberest · past second person singular blubbered · archaic past second person singular blubberedst · present singular third person blubbers · archaic present singular third person blubbereth · past singular third person blubbered · past plural blubbered · past subjunctive blubbered · participle present blubbering · participle past blubbered · alternative archaic blobber

1. transitiveOften followed by out: to cry out (words) while sobbing.

   Here Bliſil ſighed bitterly; upon vvhich VVeſtern, vvhoſe Eyes vvere full of Tears at the praiſe of Sophia, blubbered out, 'Don't be Chicken-hearted, for ſhat ha her, d—n me, ſhat ha her, if ſhe vvas tvventy Times as good.'

   1749, Henry Fielding, “The Arrival of Mr. Western, with Some Matters Concerning the Paternal Authority”, in The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, volume VI, London: A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC, book XVII, page 104

2. alsoarchaicfigurativelytransitiveTo wet (one's eyes or face) by crying; to beweep; also, to cause (one's face) to disfigure or swell through crying.

   Her ſvvollen eyes vvere much diſfigured, / And her faire face vvith teares vvas fovvly blubbered.

   1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book II, Canto I”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 13, page 190

   4 more examples

   As God sees the water in the spring in the veins of the earth, before it bubble upon the face of the earth; so God sees tears in the heart of a man, before they blubber his face; God hears the tears of that sorrowful soul, which for sorrow cannot shed tears.

   a. 1632 (date written), John Donne, “Sermon LIII. Preached upon the Penitential Psalms.”, in Henry Alford, editor, The Works of John Donne, D.D., […], volume II, London: John W[illiam] Parker, […], published 1839, →OCLC, page 488

   Dear Cloe, how blubber'd is that pretty Face? / Thy Cheek all on Fire, and Thy Hair all uncurl'd: […]

   1718, Mat[thew] Prior, “A Better Answer”, in Poems on Several Occasions, London: […] Jacob Tonson […], and John Barber […], →OCLC, stanza I, page 96

   [S]he haſtily retired, taking vvith her her little Girl, vvhoſe eyes vvere all over blubbered at the melancholy Nevvs ſhe heard of Jones, vvho uſed to call her his little VVife, and not only gave her many Playthings, but ſpent vvhole Hours in playing vvith her himſelf.

   1749, Henry Fielding, “The Generous and Grateful Behaviour of Mrs. Miller”, in The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, volume VI, London: A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC, book XVII, page 97

   The opening of the first grammar-school was the opening of the first trench against monopoly in church and state; the first row of trammels and pothooks which the little Shearjashubs and Elkanahs blotted and blubbered across their copy-books, was the preamble to the Declaration of Independence.

   1870, James Russell Lowell, “New England Two Centuries ago”, in Among My Books, Boston, Mass.: Fields, Osgood, & Co., →OCLC, page 242

3. obsoletetransitiveOften followed by forth: to let (one's tears) flow freely.

   Behold her novv in humble guiſe, / Upon her knees vvith dovvncaſt eyes / Before the Prieſt: ſhe thus begins, / And ſobbing, blubbers forth her ſins; […]

   1720, John Gay, “[Tales.] The Mad-dog. A Tale.”, in Poems on Several Occasions, volume II, London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], and Bernard Lintot, […], →OCLC, page 335

   1 more example

   Looke on this tree, vvhich blubbereth Amber gum / vvhich ſeemes to ſpeak to thee, though it be dumb, / VVhich being ſenceles blocks, as thou do'ſt ſee, / VVeepe at my vvoes, that thou might'ſt pitty mee: […]

   [1595], Michael Drayton, Endimion and Phœbe. Ideas Latmus, London: […] Iames Roberts, for Iohn Busbie, →OCLC, signature C2, verso

4. derogatoryintransitiveTo cry or weep freely and noisily; to sob.

   But no more of this blubbering now, we are going a-whaling, and there is plenty of that yet to come.

   1851 November 14, Herman Melville, “The Carpet-bag”, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC, page 11

   5 more examples

   What weepe? fye for ſhame, and blubber? for manhods ſake, / Neuer lette your foe ſo muche pleaſure of you take.

   c. 1552 (date written), Nicholas Udall, [Ralph Roister Doister], [London]: [s.n.], published 1566?; republished as Edward Arber, editor, Roister Doister. […] (English Reprints), London: Muir & Paterson, […], 24 July 1869, →OCLC, Act III, scene iiii, page 52

   VVhere are you, vvife? my Celia? vvhat, blubbering? / Come, drye thoſe teares, I thinke, thou thought'ſt mee in earneſt?

   1605 (first performance), Ben[jamin] Jonson, Ben: Ionson His Volpone or The Foxe, [London]: […] [George Eld] for Thomas Thorppe, published 1607, →OCLC, Act II, scene vii, signature F2, verso

   Euen as a mother ſendeth forth her childe to ſchoole vvith fayre vvords and promiſes, that hath ſlept too long in the morning, and therefore feareth the rodde, vvhen he vveepeth and blubbereth ſhe promiſeth him, all vvill be vvell, becauſe it is not ſo late as he imagineth, […] euen ſo, manie Paſtours of ſoules ſpeake pleaſing things to their ſheepe that are riche and delicate, they promiſe them, vvhen they are dying, and feare hell, that all things ſhall be vvell vvith them, […]

   1642, [Cresacre Moore], “The Pious Home-employmente of Sir Thomas Mores; and His Godly Councels Giuen to His Wyfe and Children.”, in The Life and Death of Sr. Thomas Moore, […], [London?]: [s.n.], →OCLC, section 4, pages 135–136

   VVhen he heard me pronounce theſe vvords in our ovvn language, he leaped upon me in a tranſport of joy, hung about my neck, kiſſed me from ear to ear, and blubbered like a great ſchool-boy vvho has been vvhipt.

   1748, [Tobias Smollett], “The Gascon Does Not Use His Victory with All the Moderation that Might have been Expected […]”, in The Adventures of Roderick Random. […], volume II, London: […] [William Strahan] for J[ohn] Osborn […], →OCLC, page 72

   Phœbe Mayflower blubbered heartily for company, though she understood but little of what had passed; […]

   1826, [Walter Scott], chapter IV, in Woodstock; Or, The Cavalier. […], volume I, Edinburgh: […] [James Ballantyne and Co.] for Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, and Green, →OCLC, page 119

   Synonyms: beweep, burst into tears, cry, cry one's eyes out, greet, shed a tear, shed tears, squirt some

5. intransitiveobsoleteTo bubble or bubble up; also, to make a bubbling sound like water boiling.

plural blubbers · alternative archaic blobber

1. countableuncountableA fatty layer of adipose tissue found immediately beneath the epidermis of whales and other cetaceans (infraorder Cetacea).

   Though their [the hyena whale or pilot whale's] blubber is very thin, some of these whales will yield you upwards of thirty gallons of oil.

   1851 November 14, Herman Melville, “Cetology”, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC, page 155

   2 more examples

   There was a most Monstrous Whale: / He had no Skin, he had no Tail. / When he tried to Spout, that Great Big Lubber, / The best he could do was Jiggle his Blubber.

   1937–1961, Theodore Roethke, “The Whale”, in I Am! Says the Lamb, Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday & Company, published 1961, →OCLC, part 1 (The Nonsense Poems), page 12

   The first barrels of crude fetched $18 (around $450 at today's prices). It was used to make kerosene, the main fuel for artificial lighting after overfishing led to a shortage of whale blubber.

   2013 August 3, “Yesterday’s fuel”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8847, London: The Economist Group, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 04 Aug 2013

   1. uncountableA fatty layer of adipose tissue found in other animals which keeps them warm, especially Arctic animals such as sea lions and Antarctic animals such as penguins.

      1 more example

      There were hundred of slaughtered seals, and it was evident that, as far as the eye could reach, the work of death had been complete. Still something had occurred to prevent the hunters from securing their rich booty, for huge piles of skins, with their adhering blubber, were scattered over the ice, and near one was planted firmly in the floe a boat-hook, with a small flag at the top.

      1877, Charles W[inslow] Hall, “A Change of Base—Building a Snow-hut—The View from the Berg—A Strange Meeting”, in Adrift in the Ice-fields, Boston, Mass.: Lee and Shepard; New York, N.Y.: Charles T. Dillingham, →OCLC, page 257

   2. derogatoryinformaloffensiveuncountableA person's fat tissue, usually when regarded as excessive and unsightly.

      Are you numbered among the employed yet? I read the unemployment figures and I shudder. You do not have any stored-up blubber to live on.

      1977 April 23, M. M. B., “Letter from Home”, in Neil Miller, editor, Gay Community News, volume 4, number 43, Boston, Mass.: GCN, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 16, column 1

   3. archaicbroadlycountableA jellyfish (subphylum Medusozoa).

      You know, Jacob, that the North Seas are full of these animals—you cannot imagine the quantity of them; the sailors call them blubbers, because they are composed of a sort of transparent jelly, but the real name I am told is Medusæ, that is, the learned name.

      1834, [Frederick Marryat], chapter II, in Jacob Faithful […], volume III, London: Saunders and Otley, […], →OCLC, page 23

2. countablederogatoryAn act of crying or weeping freely and noisily.

   Fassmann gives dolorous clippings from the Leyden Gazette, all in a blubber of tears, according to the then fashion, but full of impertinent curiosity withal.

   1858, Thomas Carlyle, “In Papa’s Sick-room; Prussian Inspections; End of War”, in History of Friedrich II. of Prussia, Called Frederick the Great, volume II, London: Chapman and Hall, […], →OCLC, book IX, page 536

3. countableobsoleteA bubble.

plural blubbers · alternative archaic blobber

1. One who blubs (“cries or weeps freely and noisily”); a blubberer.

   It was really emotional. I am a blubber at the best of times. I had only been there for 18 months and found it upsetting so it was really hard for the people that had been there for 18 years.

   2011 April 13, Nikki Sanderson, quotee, “Nikki Sanderson: from the Street to the stage”, in Geordie Greig, editor, Evening Standard, London: Evening Standard, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 24 Mar 2023

   2 more examples

   [T]hree of the boys, of whom Mr. Hector was sometimes one, used to come in the morning as his humble attendants, and carry him [Johnson] to school. […] The purfly, sand-blind lubber and blubber, with his open mouth, and face of bruised honeycomb; yet already dominant, imperial, irresistible!

   1832 May, Thomas Carlyle, “[James] Boswell’s Life of [Samuel] Johnson”, in R[alph] W[aldo] E[merson], editor, Critical and Miscellaneous Essays: […], volume III, Boston, Mass.: James Munroe and Company, published 1839, →OCLC, page 147

   As an auctioneer, you tend to come into people's lives when they are going through an awful lot, and it is very difficult not to get emotionally involved. You feel responsible for helping them to achieve their goal, and that's quite a weight to carry on your shoulders. I am a blubber at the best of times – it doesn't take a lot to set me off!

   2022 October 24, Christina Trevanion, quotee, “The Repair Shop’s Will Kirk and Antiques Road Trip’s Christina Trevanion Become The Travelling Auctioneers in Idyllic New BBC One Series”, in BBC, published 25 October 2022, archived from the original on 24 Mar 2023

   Synonyms: sobber

alternative archaic blobber

1. archaicnot comparableEspecially of lips: protruding, swollen.

   And what like is the Nubian slave, who comes ambassador on such an errand from the Soldan? […] with black skin, a head curled like a ram's, a flat nose, and blubber lips—ha, worthy Sir Henry?

   1825 June 22, [Walter Scott], chapter XII, in Tales of the Crusaders. […], volume IV (The Talisman), Edinburgh: […] [James Ballantyne and Co.] for Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst, Robinson, and Co., →OCLC, page 253

   1 more example

   Henry Blomfield Grocer in Bungay in Suffolk, about 30 years of age, of a middle ſtature, round viſag'd, of a ruddy complexion, having full blubber lips very remarkable, ſhort brovvn hair curling at the ends, on a ſad gray horſe 14 hands high, did on VVedneſday evening the 20 of this inſtant June, leave his Family, and run avvay vvith a Sum of Mony in tvvo black leather Bags. VVhoſoever ſhall diſcover the ſaid Henry Blomfeild,^([sic]) ſo as to be apprehended, and ſhall give notice to Mr. John Uffing at the Green Dragon in Biſhopſgate-ſtreet, ſhall have five pounds revvard.

   1677 July 5–8 (Gregorian calendar), The London Gazette, number 1211, In the Savoy [London]: Tho[mas] Newcomb, →OCLC, page [2], column 2