headbanger

Etymology

From head + banger.

headbanger means one who dances by violently shaking the head in time to the music. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 88 out of 100.

noun

One who dances by violently shaking the head in time to the music.
One who enjoys heavy metal (rock) music, to which this sort of dance is usually performed.
A violently deranged, extreme or fanatical person; a nutcase.
A silly or eccentric person.
A political hardliner, especially an obstructive one.“We would therefore paralyse ourselves for no good reason other than the propagandistic appeasement of the Daily Mail, the Sun, my noble friend Lord Hamilton and a few other headbangers in the Commons on the Conservative side.”
A person who engages in street violence, especially in support of a political group.“We also had a heavy crew of home-grown headbangers who were likely to get involved in any IRA - UVF battles. It would not have taken much to tip Scotland into the serial sectarian violence that was rife in Belfast and the surrounding areas.”