howler

Everyday

1. (informal) A howler is a silly, obvious mistake, especially a funny one in writing or an exam. tree →
2. A howler is an animal or person that howls, such as a howler monkey. tree →
3. A howler monkey is a large South and Central American monkey with a very loud call. tree →
4. (UK, old-fashioned) A howler was a letter that shouted at its reader; in the Harry Potter books a Howler is a magic red letter that yells. tree →

In the lessons

In school it means a big, laughable error: writing «the Pacific Ocean is in Paris» is a howler. In science lessons howler monkeys are known as among the loudest land animals, heard kilometres away. In stories a howler can be a ghostly wind or a wolf. Phrases: «make a howler», «a real howler», «howler monkey».

Examples

• Writing that Shakespeare invented the telephone was a real howler. tree →
• The goalkeeper made a howler and let the ball roll between his legs. tree →
• Howler monkeys shout to each other across the rainforest at dawn. tree →
• Our teacher collects the funniest howlers from exam papers. tree →
• The wind was a howler that night, rattling every window. tree →
• Ron got a Howler from his mum, and it screamed at him in the Great Hall. tree →
• Check your answer twice so you don't make a howler. tree →

Note

Countable: one howler, two howlers. Comes from the verb «howl» (a long loud cry). «Howler» for a mistake is informal but not rude. A howler monkey is a real animal, not a made-up one.