Meanings
nouncrawthumper (plural crawthumpers)
plural crawthumpers
- IrelandcolloquialAn ostentatiously pious person, especially a Roman Catholic.
Those crawthumpers, now that's a good name for them, there's always something shiftylooking about them.
1922 February 2, James Joyce, “[Episode 5: Lotus Eaters]”, in Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company […], →OCLC, part II [Odyssey], page 78Synonyms: voteen
Synonyms & antonyms
nounAn ostentatiously pious person, especially a Roman Catholic.
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Origin
From craw + thumper, suggesting a person who is always beating their chest, a gesture of piety and submission.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
APA
crawthumper. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/crawthumper
MLA
“crawthumper.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/crawthumper. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “crawthumper,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/crawthumper.
Source: crawthumper on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.