lure knocker
n.— «Every fisherman should also carry what is called a “lure knocker,” which is a device with a weight on the end and a short length of chain attached to a long rope. The device will hook onto your snagged lure and retrieve it.» —“Jumbo minnows yielding best results on Clear Lake” by Terry Knight Record-Bee (Lakeport, California) Dec. 12, 2008. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Mark in Bismarck, North Dakota, spent years as a sailor, and wonders about the term sea painter, meaning “a rope attached to a lifeboat.” Why painter? The word may derive from Middle French pendeur meaning “a kind of rope that...
David from Plymouth, Wisconsin, wonders about the expression a cord of wood. The phrase goes back to the 17th century and has to do with using a cord to measure a specific quantity of stacked wood. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of...