hearse n.
(US)1. (also hearse-driver) a pessimistic person.
![[US]](/static/img/flags/us.png "United States") | Confessions of Frivolous Girl 114: One girl had nicknamed him ‘the hearse’ on account of his habitual melancholy. | |
| letter 15 May in Splete (1988) 209: Well you old hearse driver. |
2. (US) a large measure of beer, cheaply priced and served in a bar which does not offer free lunch.
| Sun (NY) 21 Apr. 7/2: There are some men who prefer hoisting a ‘hearse’ in a ‘dead house’ to paying ten cents fot the same drink and a free lunch in another saloon. |
3. a police patrol wagon.
| Stories of Chinatown 51: I was just getting into the hearse after being sentenced when Ida ran up. |
4. a large automobile.
| in Zwilling TAD Lex. (1993) 108: If they took longer than 10 minutes to put that hearse together [...] they were loafing on the job. | |
| Adam M-1 201: I have a new hearse. |
In compounds
(US Und.) one who preys on the relatives of newly deceased people, esp. by claiming there are outstanding bills to be paid.
| Sun (N.Y.) 19 Feb. 28/1: ‘Hearse chasers’ are vultures who prey on the estate or relatives of dead men by presenting false claims or selling biographies at exorbitant prices or in dozens of other ways. | |
| Parole Chief 223: Hearse chasers, who bilk thousands of people yearly. |
see sense 1 above.