A.Word.A.Day --roustabout

A.Word.A.Day

Home

Feb 11, 2009

This week's theme
Words derived from birds

This week's words
columbarium
pied
roustabout
crestfallen
canard

Add your two cents' ...
worth to this week's theme and words. Or, if you wish, use centimes, paise, pence, yen, lire, pesos, piasters, etc. Log on at our bulletin board
Wordsmith Talk

Discuss

Feedback

RSS/XML

A.Word.A.Day

with Anu Garg

roustabout

PRONUNCIATION:

(ROUST-uh-bout)

MEANING:

noun: A casual or unskilled laborer, especially on an oil rig.

ETYMOLOGY:

From roust, perhaps an alteration of rouse (to shake feathers, as of a hawk).

USAGE:

"But Smith has made it, for 18 years, starting as a roustabout in Long Beach and working his way up to lead operator overseeing the daily workings of Platform B off Santa Barbara's coast."
Zeke Barlow; Platform Workers At Peace With Long Hours, Workweek; Ventura County Star (California); Feb 1, 2009.

See more usage examples of roustabout in Vocabulary.com's dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

I believe I have no prejudices whatsoever. All I need to know is that a man is a member of the human race. That's bad enough for me. -Mark Twain, author and humorist (1835-1910)

We need your help

Help us continue to spread the magic of words to readers everywhere

Donate

Subscriber Services
Awards | Stats | Links | Privacy Policy
Contribute | Advertise