hitchern.
/ˈhɪtʃə/, U.S. /ˈhɪtʃər/ One who or that which hitches.
1. A hook for catching hold; a boat-hook.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > equipment of vessel > other equipment of vessel > [noun] > boat-hook
boat hook1485
bead-hook1600
hitcher1630
screw hook1688
grabbit hook1936
1630 J. Taylor Wks. i. 64/2 One of them tooke a Hitcher or long Boate-hooke, and hitched in the sicke mans Breeches, drawing him backward.
1727 P. Longueville Hermit 3 Having taken the Hitcher of the Boat, he gropes along for sure Footing.
1857 P. M. Colquhoun Compan. Oarsman's Guide 17 The boat should be brought in by the hitcher.
2. Coal Mining. A ‘hanger-on’. (See quot. 1891.)
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to type of work > manual or industrial worker > miner > [noun] > coal-miner > who works with trams, tubs, etc.
coal putter1708
foal1770
onsetter1789
putter1812
headsman1813
trapper1815
thruster1825
trammer1839
train boy1852
tram1856
hanger-on1858
tipper1861
hooker-on?1881
jiggerer?1881
hitcher1890
tub-loader1891
haulier1892
tilter1892
unhooker1892
flatter1894
jagger1900
thrutcher1901
tram-boy1904
filler1921
1890 Daily News 7 Feb. 5/6 It has surprised everybody to find that John Beard, the hitcher in the pit, should have escaped so marvellously.
1891 Labour Commission Gloss. Hitchers, the men who put the trams of coal on the carriage at the pit bottom.
3. One who hitch-hikes.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > transport > transport or conveyance in a vehicle > riding in a vehicle > [noun] > one who rides in a vehicle > hitch-hiker
hitch-hiker1927
thumber1935
hitcher1960
swamper1966
1960 20th Cent. Nov. 476 Do you often pick up hitchers?
1972 R. Quilty Tenth Session 19 When the road seemed to stretch endlessly..Bill always felt he was doing the company a service by picking up a hitcher.
1973 Daily Colonist (Victoria, Brit. Columbia) 1 July 4/2 The film company..advertised for hitchers to tell their stories of experiences good and bad.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1898; most recently modified version published online March 2018).
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