beater
n.— «The primary target for hunters are so-called “beater” harp seals—older pups that have shed their whitecoats and are weaned from their mothers. The seals are called beaters because they’re not yet swimming and if they fall into the water, they beat around frantically with their flippers.» —“Annual seal hunt off Newfoundland and Labrador off to slow start” in St. John’s, Newfoundland Canada.com Apr. 12, 2006. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Mary from Greensboro, North Carolina, asks about an expression her Canadian mother used when Mary’s room looked particularly messy: A cow couldn’t find her calf in here! The more common A cow couldn’t find its calf in this room! was popularized by...
A listener who grew up in Newfoundland remembers her grandfather declaring the fog was thick as burgoo. Turns out burgoo was sailors’ slang for a gray, gelatinous oatmeal—exactly the right image for an impenetrable Newfoundland fog. The word appears...