railbird
Americannoun
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a horse-racing fan who watches races or workouts from the railing along the track.
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any kibitzer or self-styled critic or expert.
Etymology
Origin of railbird
1890–95, rail 1 + bird in sense “frequenter,” as in jailbird, yardbird
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.
Perhaps only the most dedicated railbirds knew Leon’s name at post time.
From New York Times
He grew up on a local dairy farm and became a Grants Pass Downs railbird long before he and his late brother, Dane, turned a pushcart coffee stand in town into Dutch Bros.
From New York Times
And a little track in Nebraska that railbirds mostly ignore in normal times is suddenly getting outsize attention.
From New York Times
Aqueduct racetrack near JFK Airport told railbirds to stay home but was still planning to run a full card of horse races Friday afternoon.
From Fox News
In horse racing, a railbird is a regular who hangs on the rail around the track to be close to the action.
From Washington Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
