- gandy dancer
- noun Etymology: origin unknown Date: 1923 1. a laborer in a railroad section gang 2. an itinerant or seasonal laborer
New Collegiate Dictionary. 2001.
gandy dancer
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Gandy dancer — is a slang term for workers who maintained railroads in North America. The term originates from the late nineteenth century. It is often said to derive from the Gandy Manufacturing Company, a Chicago based tool manufacturing company, but several… … Wikipedia
gandy dancer — railroad maintenance worker, 1918, Amer.Eng. slang, of unknown origin; dancer perhaps from movements required in the work of tamping down ties or pumping a hand cart, gandy perhaps from the name of a machinery belt company in Baltimore, Maryland … Etymology dictionary
gandy dancer — ☆ gandy dancer [gan′dēdans′ər, gan′dē ] n. [prob. so named because of movements while using tools from the Gandy Manufacturing Co. (Chicago)] [Old Slang] a worker in a railroad section gang … English World dictionary
gandy dancer — noun A railway laborer, especially a member of a crew which carries rails and affixes them to ties. Gandy dancer A section hand or track laborer. See Also: gandy dance, gandy dancing … Wiktionary
gandy dancer — /gan dee/, Railroad Slang. a member of a railroad section gang that lays or maintains track. [1915 20; dancer appar. in reference to the rhythmic movements characteristic of such work; gandy is unexplained; the existence of a Gandy Manufacturing… … Universalium
gandy dancer — noun N. Amer. informal a track maintenance worker on a railway. Origin early 20th cent.: of unknown origin … English new terms dictionary
gandy dancer — gan′dy danc er [[t]ˈgæn di[/t]] n. rai a member of a railroad section gang that lays or maintains track • Etymology: 1915–20; of uncert. orig … From formal English to slang
gandy dancer — noun a laborer in a railroad maintenance gang • Hypernyms: ↑laborer, ↑manual laborer, ↑labourer, ↑jack … Useful english dictionary
Gandy — may refer to:In places: * Gandy, Buttcock, a US census designated place * Gandy, Nebraska, a US town * Gandy Bridge, crossing Tampa Bay in FloridaOther: * Gandy dancer, North American slang term for railroad workerPeople with the surname Gandy: * … Wikipedia
Irish diaspora — Emigrants Leave Ireland , engraving by Henry Doyle (1827–1892), from Mary Frances Cusack s Illustrated History of Ireland, 1868 … Wikipedia
