From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Spoiler \Spoil"er\ (spoil"[~e]r), n.
1. One who spoils; a plunderer; a pillager; a robber; a
despoiler.
[1913 Webster]
2. One who corrupts, mars, or renders useless.
[1913 Webster]
3. (Aeronautics) A device attached to the wing of an airplane
or other airfoil, which breaks the smooth flow of air
during flight and decreases the lift of the airfoil; --
used to control the attitude of the airplane during
banking or descent.
[PJC]
4. A device attached to a car to decrease lift and increase
traction, usually shaped as a flat surface and attached
above the rear of the car, and working on the same
principal as the aircraft spoiler[3].
[PJC]
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
spoiler
n 1: a candidate with no chance of winning but who may draw
enough votes to prevent one of the leading candidates from
winning
2: someone who takes spoils or plunder (as in war) [syn:
{plunderer}, {pillager}, {looter}, {spoiler}, {despoiler},
{raider}, {freebooter}]
3: someone who pampers or spoils by excessive indulgence [syn:
{pamperer}, {spoiler}, {coddler}, {mollycoddler}]
4: an airfoil mounted on the rear of a car to reduce lift at
high speeds
5: a hinged airfoil on the upper surface of an aircraft wing
that is raised to reduce lift and increase drag
From The Jargon File (version 4.4.7, 29 Dec 2003) [jargon]:
spoiler
n.
[Usenet]
1. A remark which reveals important plot elements from books or movies,
thus denying the reader (of the article) the proper suspense when reading
the book or watching the movie.
2. Any remark which telegraphs the solution of a problem or puzzle, thus
denying the reader the pleasure of working out the correct answer (see also
{interesting}). Either sense readily forms compounds like total spoiler,
quasi-spoiler and even pseudo-spoiler.
By convention, articles which are spoilers in either sense should contain
the word ?spoiler? in the Subject: line, or guarantee via various tricks
that the answer appears only after several screens-full of warning, or
conceal the sensitive information via {rot13}, {spoiler space} or some
combination of these techniques.
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