n. (Zool.) The lesser spotted woodpecker (Dendrocopus minor); -- called also tapperer, tabberer, little wood pie, barred woodpecker, wood tapper, hickwall, and pump borer. [ Prov. Eng. ] [ 1913 Webster ]
. One that taps, or cuts in on, telegraph wires and intercepts messages; hence (Slang), a swindler who pretends to tap wires or otherwise intercept advance telegraphic news for betting. -- Wire tapping. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]