body-snatcher
Noun: - Historical context: A "body-snatcher" is a person who secretly steals corpses from graves, especially in the 18th and 19th centuries, to sell them to medical schools for dissection or anatomical study. - Extended meaning (informal, US): In American slang, a "body-snatcher" can refer to a skilled sharpshooter or sniper.
- (A person who stole dead bodies for medical purposes.)
- (A skilled marksman or sniper.)
"Body-snatcher" as a historical term: The practice of body-snatching was common before legal systems allowed doctors to use unclaimed bodies for dissection. The term is often associated with the infamous case of Burke and Hare, who murdered people to sell their bodies, though strictly speaking, body-snatchers only stole already deceased persons.
- The Edinburgh body-snatchers terrorized local cemeteries until stricter laws were passed. (Historical grave-robbers.)
In modern popular culture: The term appears in horror and science fiction, such as the film Invasion of the Body Snatchers, where aliens replace humans with identical copies. This usage is metaphorical and not directly related to the historical definition.
- The novel explored the fear of being replaced by a soulless duplicate, a modern twist on the old body-snatcher legend. (A metaphorical or sci-fi usage.)
Body-snatching (n): the act of stealing corpses from graves.
- Body-snatching was a lucrative but illegal trade in the 19th century. (The practice of stealing dead bodies.)
Resurrectionist (n): a historical synonym for a body-snatcher, used especially in Britain.
- The resurrectionists worked in gangs to avoid detection. (A synonym for body-snatcher.)
Grave-robber: someone who steals valuables or bodies from graves.
- The grave-robber was caught with tools for breaking open coffins. (A synonym for body-snatcher.)
Sniper (US slang): a skilled shooter who targets individuals from a concealed position.
- The army trained him as a sniper, but his comrades called him a body-snatcher. (A synonym for the extended meaning.)
"Snatch a body": to steal a corpse from its grave.
- The criminals planned to snatch a body from the churchyard for ransom. (To steal a dead body.)
"Invasion of the body snatchers": a phrase used to describe a situation where people are replaced by identical impostors.
- The company's new management felt like an invasion of the body snatchers — familiar faces, but different behaviour. (A metaphorical idiom from the film title.)