gandy dancer

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 Company, which supposedly produced tools used by section gangs, has not been substantiated]

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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 — noun Etymology: origin unknown Date: 1923 1. a laborer in a railroad section gang 2. an itinerant or seasonal laborer …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • 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

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