stinker

Etymology

stink + -er

noun

1. One who stinks.
   Skunks are the worst stinkers in the animal kingdom.
2. (slang) A contemptible person or thing.
   "But it's far worse for me," said Edmund, "because you'll at least have a room of your own and I shall have to share a bedroom with that record stinker, Eustace." 1952, C. S. Lewis, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
   When you are colonized by dangerous bacteria their presence in your body does no damage. You become a reservoir for those little stinkers. 2011, Steven Z. Kussin, Doctor, Your Patient Will See You Now, page 241
3. (slang) Something difficult (e.g. a given puzzle) or unpleasant (e.g. negative review, nasty letter).
   Today's crossword is a stinker.
4. (Britain, slang) Something of poor quality.
   The barely-released stinker Dark Tide continues Stockwell’s fetishistic pattern, coming alive whenever it’s paddling among the sharks off the South African coast and settling in for a long snooze once it gets back on the boat or reaches dry land. April 19 2002, Scott Tobias, “Dark Tide”, in AV Club
   Steven Pinker, Rational Thinker: His new book is a stinker. [title] Sept 30, 2021, Ted McCormick, “Steven Pinker, Rational Thinker”, in Slate
   Now it’s over, let’s come out and say it: The Rings of Power was a stinker [title] 2022-10-17, Stuart Heritage, “Now it’s over, let’s come out and say it: The Rings of Power was a stinker”, in The Guardian
5. Any of several species of large Antarctic petrels which feed on blubber and carrion and have an offensive odour, such as the giant fulmar.
6. (slang) A chemist.
7. (Australia, slang) A hot day.