stinger

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

noun a cocktail made of made of creme de menthe and brandy
noun a remark capable of wounding mentally
noun a portable low altitude surface-to-air missile system using infrared guidance and an impact fuse; fired from the shoulder

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

It sized up like a bad case of bee bite with me at the wrong end of the stinger. — Torchy and Vee, Sewell Ford
The thing stopped then and looked at me a moment as much as to say: “Why this thing has a stinger! — The Land That Time Forgot, Edgar Rice Burroughs
This was lucky for Captain Puffin: he had thought it likely that he would say just that, and had got a stinger for him. — Miss Mapp, E. F. (Edward Frederic) Benson

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