ˈtwistə(r) noun
( -s )
Etymology: twist (I) + -er, n. suffix
1. : one that twists: as
a. : twister-in
b. : throwster
c. : one that twists (as dough or yarn) or shapes (as pretzels or tobacco) into twists
d. : a ball with a combined onward and spinning motion
a curve in baseball, a break ball in cricket, and a ball with English in billiards are all called twisters
e. : a textile machine or device for twisting single yarns into plied yarns or for adding twist to yarns without plying
f. : spanish windlass
g. : swivel plow
h. : a device for twisting small stumps out of the ground
i. : a device by which an arm or hand may be painfully twisted (as to subdue a prisoner)
2. : a tornado, waterspout, sand column, or dust whirl in which the rotatory ascending movement of a column of air is especially apparent
a twister may change from a tornado to a waterspout and back again many times as it crosses bays and rivers — S.D.Flora
3. : a somersault in which an acrobat performs a difficult twist of his body in air
4. : a twisted roll, doughnut, or cruller
5.
a. : a shifty, tricky, or unprincipled person : someone evasive, devious, or unreliable
he's a twister , but I'll be able to make him see that it'll pay him to be straight with me — Dorothy Sayers
b. : an insurance agent who unscrupulously induces someone to drop one policy and buy another usually in a different company
6.
a. : something difficult, overwhelming, confusing, or dumbfounding : poser
I might believe it tomorrow, but it's a bit of a twister now, this minute — A.E.Coppard
b. : tongue twister
7. dialect : mallard
Synonyms: see wind