boomer

Etymology 1

boom + -er

noun

1. An adult male kangaroo.
2. Something that makes a booming sound.
   That's when the Rev let loose one of those great big boomers of a laugh. It was so loud in the closed space, the effect was what Wes imagined it felt like to hear a bullet fired in a car. 2010, Pearl Cleage, Till You Hear from Me, page 151
3. (US, mainly 1920–1930) A transient worker who would move from boom town to boom town in search of temporary work.
4. A device used to bind or tighten chain.
5. (US, nautical, military, slang) A nuclear ballistic missile submarine, SSBN.
   Distant contact, probably submerged. It's a wild guess, but I'd say we hit a boomer coming out of the barn. Could be a missile boat out of Polijarny. 1990, The Hunt For Red October
6. (UK) A bittern (subfamily Botaurinae).
7. (Appalachia) A red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus).
8. A mountain beaver (Aplodontia rufa).

Etymology 2

noun

1. (informal) Ellipsis of baby boomer.
   Coordinate term: zoomer
   Boomers came of age in the era of The Beatles and Led Zeppelin.
   To the many Boomers who sensed that something had gone awry in Greatest Generation America, Mad was a glimmer of truth, a benign but trenchant voice against hypocrisy and pretense, a way to laugh at parents who fretted over status symbols and authorities who talked one way but acted another. 2007, Leonard Steinhorn, The Greater Generation: In Defense of the Baby Boom Legacy, New York: Macmillan
   These fears have been exacerbated by the recession, which forced many boomers to turn to Social Security earlier than anticipated because of long-term unemployment and financial crises (Johnson and Wilson, 2010a, b). 2015, Melvin Delgado, Baby Boomers of Color[…], page 4
2. (by extension, slang, sometimes derogatory) An elderly person, regardless of generation.
   I'm going to be a boomer by the time this thing is over.
3. (by extension, slang, sometimes derogatory) A person who is too old to be familiar with the use of recent technology.
   I'm such a boomer; I have no idea how to use this phone.