Definition

1. Noun:
   • A person who spits: Someone who ejects saliva or phlegm from their mouth.
   • An illegal pitch in baseball: A pitch where the pitcher applies a foreign substance (like spit or Vaseline) to the ball before throwing it.

Usage Examples

• Noun (Person):
  • The angry fan was a notorious spitter, often ejected from games.
  • It's impolite to be a spitter in public places.
• Noun (Baseball Pitch):
  • The umpire called a balk, ruling the pitch a spitter.
  • Throwing a spitter is against the official rules of baseball.

Advanced Usage

• Historical Context in Baseball: The "spitter" was once a more common, though illegal, pitch used to make the ball's trajectory unpredictable. Discussions of baseball history often mention it.
  • The pitcher's reputation was built on his infamous spitter, which he threw for years before being caught.

Variants and Related Words

• Spit (verb): To eject saliva or phlegm from the mouth.
  • Please do not spit on the sidewalk.
• Spitball (noun): Another term for the illegal spit-altered baseball pitch; also a small piece of paper chewed and thrown.
  • He was accused of throwing a spitball.

Synonyms

• Expectorator (noun, formal): A person who spits.
  • The sign warned expectorators of a fine.
• Illegal pitch (noun phrase): The general term for a pitch that violates rules, including the spitter.
  • The spitter is one type of illegal pitch.

Related Idioms or Phrases

(No common idioms are centrally built around the word "spitter" itself.)

Noun

1. an illegal pitch in which a foreign substance (spit or Vaseline) is applied to the ball by the pitcher before he throws it
2. a person who spits (ejects saliva or phlegm from the mouth)