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mooncusser

noun · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

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1

noun

Meaning 1

A land-based pirate who, on dark nights along dangerous coasts, would demolish any legitimate lighthouses or beacons, erect a decoy signal fire in a different, deliberately misleading location, and then, after having induced a shipwreck, subdue any survivors and plunder the wreckage for valuables.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: historical, humorous, uncommon

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From moon + cusser: the strategy would not work on a moonlit night, so the would-be pirate might be expected to curse the Moon.