gandy dancer

American

[gan-dee] / ˈgæn di /

noun

Railroads Slang.

a member of a railroad section gang that lays or maintains track.

gandy dancer British

/ ˈɡændɪ /

noun

slang a railway track maintenance worker

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of gandy dancer

1915–20; dancer apparently 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

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

One observer likened her stroke “to watching a gandy dancer drive railroad spikes,” The Honolulu Star-Bulletin reported.

From New York Times

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023