Home-wrecker, said Dwayne with a deadpan gasp of mock shock. My lover, the he-whore, Ted added.

King should feel a bit hard done by after being replaced in the team.

to beetle cotton goods

There is a long list of such spirits, including dwarfs, elves, gnomes, brownies, pixies, leprechauns, thumblings (like Tom Thumb), and dactyli (which means fingers). As with the Menehune, the thumblings and the dactyl-fingers are masculine figures, and so are the ancient gnomes.