bumper vs flipper

bumper

noun
  • An object on a playfield that applies force to the pinball when hit, often giving a minor increase in score. 

  • Any mechanical device used to absorb an impact, soften a collision, or protect against impact. 

  • A bouncer. 

  • A short ditty or jingle used to separate a show from the advertisements. 

  • A side wall of a pool table. 

  • Someone or something that bumps. 

  • Parts at the front and back of a vehicle which are meant to absorb the impact of a collision; fender. 

  • Anything large or successful. 

  • An extra musician (not notated in the score) who assists the principal French horn by playing less-exposed passages, so that the principal can save their 'lip' for difficult solos. Also applied to other sections of the orchestra. 

  • A woman's posterior, particularly one that is considered full and desirable. 

  • A cigarette butt. 

  • A cylindrical object used (as a substitute for birds) to train dogs to retrieve. 

adj
  • Large; (as if) filled to the bumpers at the top of a silo. 

flipper

noun
  • A flat lever in a pinball machine, triggered by the player to strike the ball and keep it in play. 

  • Television remote control, clicker. 

  • A type of ball bowled by a leg spin bowler, which spins backwards and skids off the pitch with a low bounce. 

  • A kind of false tooth, usually temporary. 

  • A small flat used to support a larger one. 

  • Someone who flips, in the sense of buying a house or other asset and selling it quickly for profit. 

  • Someone who flips in any other sense, for example throwing a coin. 

  • In marine mammals such as whales, a wide flat limb, adapted for swimming. 

  • A flat, wide, paddle-like rubber covering for the foot, used in swimming. 

  • A kitchen spatula. 

verb
  • To lift one or both flippers out of the water and slap the surface of the water. 

How often have the words bumper and flipper occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )