small coal man
/ˌsmɔːl ˈkəʊ lman/noun
Originally: a man who supplies small coal. In later use: a retailer of coal on a small scale, a small coal merchant.
- When used historical in relation to small coal men before the mid 19th cent. the term is apparently frequently understood in its later sense..
Origin
Mid 17th century; earliest use found in Henry Adamson (bap. 1581, d. 1637), poet and historian. From small coal + man. In later use, reanalysed as if from small + coalman.