powderman

[pou-der-man, -muhn]

noun

plural

powdermen 

1. a person in charge of explosives, especially in a demolition crew.

2. Slang.,  a safe-cracker who uses explosives to open safes.

Word History and Origins

Origin of powderman¹

First recorded in 1660–70; powder ¹ + man

Example Sentences

Smith says procedures at the time that 42-year-old powderman Jason Holman was fatally injured at the mine were very much industry standard.

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From 13 on, he worked as a janitor, a cattle weigher, a powderman in a Colorado mine, a highway surveyor, a truck driver, a uranium prospector.

Read more on Time Magazine Archive

Thus it was that last week Powderman Olin did not go to New Haven as a western manufacturer anxious to learn from Winchester, but as a munitions tycoon in his own right ready to buy and absorb a fallen rival.

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Last week Powderman Olin, in his 72nd year, put through a deal which once would have seemed incredible.

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An 11-inch pivot-gun on its revolving carriage was served by 24 crewmen and a powderman.

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