dangler

From dangle +‎ -er.

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈdæŋɡlə(ɹ)/

dangler (plural danglers)

1. (now rare, archaic) One who dangles about others, especially after women.
   • 1770, Frances Burney, Journals & Letters, Penguin 2001, 10 January:

     ‘You see,’ she cried, ‘what a Herd of Danglers flutter around you […].’

   • 1783, Samuel Hoole, Aurelia; Or, the Contest:

     Such once was I, a dangler to the fair; / Still, as a glass, I praise their dress, their air […]

2. (informal) A large earring that hangs down.
   • 1985, Susi Rogol, Create a Look with Jewelry, page 22:

     Long hair piled high on top of the head or cut to a short, curvy crop, needs the balance provided by large, dramatic earrings. Those with tresses frizzed into Pre-Raphaelite waves will like the look of huge hoops or ethnic danglers in wood […]

3. (grammar, informal) A dangling participle.
   • 2014, Silvia M. Rogers, Mastering Scientific and Medical Writing: A Self-help Guide, page 43:

     Similarly, participles ending in “ing” often cause danglers in scientific writing: […]

4. (slang) A penis.
   • 1986, Tim Winton, 'That Eye, the Sky' , Penguin Books Australia Ltd 1988 edition (Chapter 6, at p.52):

     "Why do I have to feed her? Why do I have to look after her? I'm a girl. Ort doesn't have to 'cause he's a boy, 'cause he's got a dangler and I haven't."

5. (slang, in the plural) The testicles.
   • 2000 January 18, cormaic, “Wildlife Ponds”, in uk.rec.gardening‎ (Usenet):

     Stupid kitten! First he thought he was a fish, now he thinks he's a mole. The vet says it's because he's missing one of his danglers.

6. a plotline that is metaphorically left to "dangle" or "hang"; in other words, the plotline is forgotten, phased out and eventually dropped, and thus a resolution is never achieved

• Glander, Le Grand, Legrand, gnarled, rangled