dustman
See also: Dustman
English edit
Etymology edit
dust + -man, as household refuse previously consisted largely of ashes (dust) from domestic fires.
Pronunciation edit
Audio (Southern England) (file)
Noun edit
dustman (plural dustmen)
- (British) A person employed to collect refuse from people's homes and take it to be processed.
- 1960, Lonnie Donegan, My Old Man's A Dustman:
- Oh, my old man's a dustman
He wears a dustman’s hat
He wears cor-blimey trousers
And he lives in a council flat.
Synonyms edit
- bin man (UK)
- garbage collector (US, Canada)
- garbage man (US, Canada)
- garbo (Australia)
- refuse collector (UK)
- sanitation engineer (US, Canada)
- trashman (US, Canada)
- See Thesaurus:garbage collector
Coordinate terms edit
- (gender): dustwoman f
Translations edit
garbage collector — see garbage collector