bristler

noun5

1. •
   Someone or something that bristles.

   • Is it the braggart and the bristler, the man who has nothing to learn, who would build a wall between America and other lands, or would array America against the world — 1896
2. •
   (informal) A bristled pig.

   • 'Twas he who rear'd the roe-deer's brood, And the young bristler of the wood — 1840
3. •
   (no longer used) A conman.

   • A friend of mine having occasion to show this section to a party of 4 bristlers, states that they withdrew a pace and seemed to be computing among themselves. — 1902
4. •
   (offensive, no longer used) A person of low social class.

   • But I own I like a quiet unobtrusive bristler — the sort of man who doesn't want to take you beyond ten times ten in the multiplication table. — 1915
5. •
   (slang, no longer used) A soldier who is part of a company that carries pikes.

   • Many attacks and retreats did Bruin make boldly, notwithstanding the roar and warlike phalanx attitude of the bristlers. — 1859