stinger

Definition

A pointed portion of an insect or arachnid used for attack.

Etymology

From sting + -er. Both figurative and literal senses appeared in the 16th century.

Example Sentences

• "The thing stopped then and looked at me a moment as much as to say: "Why this thing has a stinger! I must be careful." And then it reached out its long neck and opened its mighty jaws and grabbed for me; but I wasn't there."
• "The most commonly used tool in the horror score kit is the “sting” — a quick and loud jolt of sound that coincides with a frightening image or the attack of a killer or creature. “Stingers are a form of music that are unique to movies,” Young adds. “There’s no other venue of musicmaking that has a window of opportunity for writing these little splats of instrumental sound that exist for the sole purpose of getting the little girls in the audience to jump out of their seats. In two or three seconds, you have to do enough so that it isn’t melodrama, that it does the job and also it’s your signature.”"