howler

Plural: howlers

Noun

• One that howls; a glaring blunder.
• a joke that seems extremely funny
• monkey of tropical South American forests having a loud howling cry
• a glaring blunder
• That which howls, especially an animal such as a wolf or a howler monkey.
• A person hired to howl in mourning at a funeral.
• A painfully obvious mistake.
• A hilarious joke.
• A bitterly cold day.
• A person who expresses aggression openly in the form of threats.
• A heavy fall.
• A serious accident (especially to come a howler or go a howler; compare come a cropper).
• A tremendous lie; a whopper.
• A fashionably but extravagantly overdressed man, a "howling swell".
• A 32-ounce ceramic, plastic, or stainless steel jug used to transport draft beer.
• A small child.

Examples

• Our hansom came a howler.
• Playing ’QI’ on a double word square was a HOWLER, especially with an ’U’ on the rack.

Synonyms

belly laugh, howler monkey, riot, scream, sidesplitter, thigh-slapper, wow