Short rope used to bind a cable to the "messenger" (a moving line propelled by the capstan) so that the cable is dragged along too (Used because the cable is too large to be wrapped round the capstan itself). During the raising of an anchor the nippers were attached and detached from the (endless) messenger by the ship's boys. Hence the term for small boys: 'nippers'.

A young boy whose job it was to open the mining doors whenever a mule-drawn mine car passed through. Also called a trapper or door boy.

Nipper was a British comic book that ran from the issues dated 31 January to 12 September 1987, when it merged with Buster. Unlike most British comics by this time, which had A4 paper size, this was an A5 comic, which meant it was half the size of all the others, hence the name 'Nipper'. By the time of its last issue, however, it had become an A4 comic like the others.