grease monkey
5
7.7
- noun
- /ɡris ˈmʌŋki/
- Offensive
:
mecánico (coloquial, despectivo, EE. UU.)
- He found his brother at Smitty's Auto Repair on 15th Avenue, where Chuck worked as a grease monkey.
And by that I mean he wanted to be an aerospace engineer, but his mom from the old country thought that that would be like a grease monkey, and so she said no.
- And by that I mean he wanted to be an aerospace engineer, but his mom from the old country thought that that would be like a grease monkey, and so she said no.
Examples
-
The grease monkey, as my father called mechanics, said he couldn't guarantee the battery would hold a charge, and that in this subzero weather, the safest thing was to buy a new one.
Fiction book (2001) -
What does a girl like you want with a grease monkey like me?
-
I'm not just some grease monkey, you know.
Fiction book (2000) -
I'm just a hired grease monkey.
Fiction book (1999) -
He was a real grease monkey.
-
He was Grant's first grease monkey.
-
You're a grease monkey.
-
The mechanic, known as a grease monkey, quickly fixed my car in less than an hour.
-
When my car broke down, I took it to a grease monkey who specializes in engine repairs.
-
He used to be a grease monkey before he started his own auto repair business.
Synonyms
188
2.3
A person who repairs machines like cars and engines
33
2.7
A person who fixes broken machines and equipment
11
2.5
A person who fixes and looks after buildings and equipment
6
3.6
A skilled worker who repairs things in houses and apartments
3
2.7
A person who fixes and looks after cars
1
3.2
A person who repairs and looks after cars
1
8.5
A person who fixes cars and other machines
1
3.2
A person who repairs machines or home appliances
1
2.6
A person who fixes and looks after cars
1
3.2
A skilled person who repairs and looks after machines in a workshop
A woman who fixes machines, equipment, or buildings
A person who uses a wrench to fix machines
How Skilled
- Specialized
1
4.0
188
2.3
- Offensive
5
7.7
97
3.4
Surface Forms
Morphology
The noun pairs a concrete material 'grease' with 'monkey' used figuratively for a person, so a learner could plausibly infer 'someone who works with grease' and thus approximate 'mechanic'. However, the use of 'monkey' as slang for a worker is idiomatic and culture-specific, and the exact occupational meaning (mechanic) is not fully predictable from the parts alone.
Etymology
Grease monkey may come from the picture of a worker covered in oil who climbs into engines: grease for the oil and monkey for someone who moves around in small, dirty spaces. That's why it came to mean 'a mechanic' today.