Badger state

wisconsin (used as a nickname).
any of various burrowing, carnivorous mammals of the family mustelidae, as taxidea taxus, of north america, and meles meles, of europe and asia.
the fur of this mammal.
australian.

a wombat.
bandicoot (def 2).

(initial capital letter) a native or inhabitant of wisconsin (the badger state) (used as a nickname).
a swablike device for cleaning excess mortar from the interiors of newly laid tile drains.
to har-ss or urge persistently; pester; nag:
i had to badger him into coming with us.
contemporary examples

in the badger state, democratic gubernatorial challenger tom barrett is the one primarily relying on third-party efforts.
wisconsin recall: bucking the super-pac trend ben jacobs june 2, 2012

in an election season with many bright spots for the republican party, the badger state shone among the brightest.
reince priebus ousts michael steele as rnc chairman samuel p. jacobs, shushannah walshe january 13, 2011

lynette clark, a leader of the alaskan independence party, said that she was encouraged by the news of out of the badger state.
wisconsin’s gop secession panic david freedlander may 1, 2014

just 44 percent of badger state republicans have college degrees, but romney defeated santorum there handily.
paul begala: mitt romney wins now, loses later paul begala april 3, 2012

historical examples

from the spring of 1873 to the summer of 1883 the “badger state” was a faithful friend.
a child of the sea; and life among the mormons elizabeth whitney williams

no matter what the weather might be, how heavy the gale, the good ship “badger state” never failed us.
a child of the sea; and life among the mormons elizabeth whitney williams

john n. thompson grew to manhood in the badger state, and his education was that afforded by its public schools.
lyman’s history of old walla walla county, vol. 1 (of 2) william denison lyman

wisconsin is sometimes called the “badger state” because of the numbers of these animals found there by the early settlers.
science of trapping elmer harry kreps

noun
any of various stocky omnivorous musteline mammals of the subfamily melinae, such as meles meles (eurasian badger), occurring in europe, asia, and north america: order carnivora (carnivores). they are typically large burrowing animals, with strong claws and a thick coat striped black and white on the head compare ferret badger, hog badger
honey badger, another name for ratel
verb
(transitive) to pester or har-ss
n.

1520s, perhaps from bage “badge” (see badge) + -ard “one who carries some action or possesses some quality,” suffix related to middle high german -hart “bold” (see -ard). if so, the central notion is the badge-like white blaze on the animal’s forehead (cf. french blaireau “badger,” from old french blarel, from bler “marked with a white spot;” also obsolete middle english bauson “badger,” from old french bauzan, literally “black-and-white spotted”). but blaze (n.2) was the usual word for this.

an old english name for the creature was the celtic borrowing brock; also græg (middle english grei, grey). in american english, the nickname of inhabitants or natives of wisconsin (1833).
v.

1790, from badger (n.), based on the behavior of the dogs in the medieval sport of badger-baiting, still practiced in 18c. england. related: badgered; badgering.

this word is found in ex. 25:5; 26:14; 35:7, 23; 36:19; 39:34; num. 4:6, etc. the tabernacle was covered with badgers’ skins; the shoes of women were also made of them (ezek. 16:10). our translators seem to have been misled by the similarity in sound of the hebrew _tachash_ and the latin _taxus_, “a badger.” the revisers have correctly subst-tuted “seal skins.” the arabs of the sinaitic peninsula apply the name _tucash_ to the seals and dugongs which are common in the red sea, and the skins of which are largely used as leather and for sandals. though the badger is common in palestine, and might occur in the wilderness, its small hide would have been useless as a tent covering. the dugong, very plentiful in the shallow waters on the sh-r-s of the red sea, is a marine animal from 12 to 30 feet long, something between a whale and a seal, never leaving the water, but very easily caught. it grazes on seaweed, and is known by naturalists as halicore tabernaculi.