/ ˈklɪŋkə(r); NAmE / noun
1.
[ U , C ] the hard rough substance left after coal has burnt at a high temperature; a piece of this substance
2.
[ sing. ] ( NAmE ) a wrong musical note :
The singer hit a clinker.
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WORD ORIGIN
sense 1 mid 17th cent.: from obsolete Dutch klinckaerd (earlier form of klinker ), from klinken to clink.
sense 2 late 17th cent. (denoting a person or thing that clinks): from clink a sharp ringing sound + -er . The current sense dates from the 1930s.