badger

Badger
    n 1: a native or resident of Wisconsin [syn: {Wisconsinite},
         {Badger}]
    2: sturdy carnivorous burrowing mammal with strong claws; widely
       distributed in the northern hemisphere
    v 1: annoy persistently; "The children teased the boy because of
         his stammer" [syn: {tease}, {badger}, {pester}, {bug},
         {beleaguer}]
    2: persuade through constant efforts
    

Badger \Badg"er\, n. [Of uncertain origin; perh. fr. an old verb
   badge to lay up provisions to sell again.]
   An itinerant licensed dealer in commodities used for food; a
   hawker; a huckster; -- formerly applied especially to one who
   bought grain in one place and sold it in another. [Now
   dialectic, Eng.]
   [1913 Webster]
    

Badger \Badg"er\, n. [OE. bageard, prob. fr. badge + -ard, in
   reference to the white mark on its forehead. See {Badge},n.]
   1. A carnivorous quadruped of the genus {Meles} or of an
      allied genus. It is a burrowing animal, with short, thick
      legs, and long claws on the fore feet. One species ({Meles
      meles} or {Meles vulgaris}), called also {brock}, inhabits
      the north of Europe and Asia; another species ({Taxidea
      taxus} or {Taxidea Americana} or {Taxidea Labradorica})
      inhabits the northern parts of North America. See
      {Teledu}.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. A brush made of badgers' hair, used by artists.
      [1913 Webster]

   {Badger dog}. (Zool.) See {Dachshund}.
      [1913 Webster]
    

Badger \Badg"er\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Badgered}; p. pr. & vb.
   n. {Badgering}.] [For sense 1, see 2d {Badger}; for 2, see
   1st {Badger}.]
   1. To tease or annoy, as a badger when baited; to worry or
      irritate persistently.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. To beat down; to cheapen; to barter; to bargain.
      [1913 Webster]
    

Badger
this word is found in Ex. 25:5; 26:14; 35:7, 23; 36:19; 39:34;
Num. 4:6, etc. The tabernacle was covered with badgers' skins;
the shoes of women were also made of them (Ezek. 16:10). Our
translators seem to have been misled by the similarity in sound
of the Hebrew _tachash_ and the Latin _taxus_, "a badger." The
revisers have correctly substituted "seal skins." The Arabs of
the Sinaitic peninsula apply the name _tucash_ to the seals and
dugongs which are common in the Red Sea, and the skins of which
are largely used as leather and for sandals. Though the badger
is common in Palestine, and might occur in the wilderness, its
small hide would have been useless as a tent covering. The
dugong, very plentiful in the shallow waters on the shores of
the Red Sea, is a marine animal from 12 to 30 feet long,
something between a whale and a seal, never leaving the water,
but very easily caught. It grazes on seaweed, and is known by
naturalists as Halicore tabernaculi.
    

Badger, IA (city, FIPS 4195)
  Location: 42.61231 N, 94.14260 W
  Population (1990): 569 (214 housing units)
  Area: 4.4 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
  Zip code(s): 50516
Badger, MN (city, FIPS 3160)
  Location: 48.77609 N, 96.02071 W
  Population (1990): 381 (176 housing units)
  Area: 3.4 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
  Zip code(s): 56714
Badger, SD (town, FIPS 3060)
  Location: 44.48571 N, 97.20940 W
  Population (1990): 114 (53 housing units)
  Area: 2.5 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
  Zip code(s): 57214
    

Badger, IA -- U.S. city in Iowa
   Population (2000):    610
   Housing Units (2000): 232
   Land area (2000):     1.691226 sq. miles (4.380256 sq. km)
   Water area (2000):    0.000000 sq. miles (0.000000 sq. km)
   Total area (2000):    1.691226 sq. miles (4.380256 sq. km)
   FIPS code:            04195
   Located within:       Iowa (IA), FIPS 19
   Location:             42.615303 N, 94.144454 W
   ZIP Codes (1990):     50516
   Note: some ZIP codes may be omitted esp. for suburbs.
   Headwords:
    Badger, IA
    Badger
    

Badger, SD -- U.S. town in South Dakota
   Population (2000):    144
   Housing Units (2000): 66
   Land area (2000):     1.064676 sq. miles (2.757498 sq. km)
   Water area (2000):    0.000000 sq. miles (0.000000 sq. km)
   Total area (2000):    1.064676 sq. miles (2.757498 sq. km)
   FIPS code:            03060
   Located within:       South Dakota (SD), FIPS 46
   Location:             44.485685 N, 97.207380 W
   ZIP Codes (1990):     57214
   Note: some ZIP codes may be omitted esp. for suburbs.
   Headwords:
    Badger, SD
    Badger
    

Badger, MN -- U.S. city in Minnesota
   Population (2000):    470
   Housing Units (2000): 228
   Land area (2000):     1.332007 sq. miles (3.449882 sq. km)
   Water area (2000):    0.000000 sq. miles (0.000000 sq. km)
   Total area (2000):    1.332007 sq. miles (3.449882 sq. km)
   FIPS code:            03160
   Located within:       Minnesota (MN), FIPS 27
   Location:             48.780003 N, 96.016780 W
   ZIP Codes (1990):     56714
   Note: some ZIP codes may be omitted esp. for suburbs.
   Headwords:
    Badger, MN
    Badger
    

74 Moby Thesaurus words for "badger":
      aggravate, annoy, bait, be at, bedevil, beset, blackmail, bother,
      bristle, brown off, bug, bullyrag, burn up, chivy, devil,
      discompose, distemper, disturb, dog, exact, exasperate, exercise,
      extort, fash, force from, get, gripe, harass, harry, heckle,
      hector, hound, irk, levy blackmail, miff, molest, nag, needle,
      nettle, nudzh, peeve, persecute, pester, pick on, pique, plague,
      pluck the beard, pother, provoke, pry loose from, rend, rend from,
      ride, rile, rip, rip from, roil, ruffle, screw, shake down,
      snatch from, squeeze, tear from, tease, torment, try the patience,
      tweak the nose, vex, worry, wrench, wrench from, wrest, wring,
      wring from