puncher
1
8.4
- noun
- /ˈpʌn.tʃər/
- Jargon
:
vaquero
- See, you people are working stiffs, clock punchers.
Examples
-
Dick Fuld hired the puncher in order to draw what little amount of public sympathy he could.
Blog text (30) -
To be a cow puncher... that don't mean you actually gotta go around punching them, you know.
-
You been messing with the damn post puncher again?
-
Billy, you been messing with the post puncher?
-
Lucky puncher.
-
A witness stated: "The cow puncher didn't like having him butt in that way and called the coon names."
Academic text (1994) -
I was a white-collar clock-puncher, a composer of concise memos.
Fiction book (1997) -
After the beat down at the hands of the Tarheels next week, GT might actually have a puncher's chance against Duke as I hear that their mascot, Blue Devil, will be taking over kicking duties.
Blog text (26) -
Mary Ellen was born into a large Irish-American family of loud arguers and punchers, and I came from a small English-heritage quartet of repressors and cowerers.
Fiction book (2002) -
The puncher rode through the rugged terrain, expertly guiding the cattle back to the ranch.
Synonyms
458
1.8
A person who looks after cattle, often riding horses
15
3.7
A person who looks after and moves animals like sheep or cattle
10
4.4
A person who works on a ranch caring for cattle or horses
7
3.6
A person paid to do manual work on a farm or ranch
6
9.1
A person who works on a ranch and looks after cattle, often on a horse
4
4.6
A person who cares for cattle and works on a ranch, often riding a horse
4
4.2
A person who raises and looks after cattle on a farm or ranch
1
9.9
A person who looks after cattle on a ranch, often on horseback
1
6.8
A person who looks after cows, often riding a horse on a farm
1
5.5
A person who looks after cows on a farm or ranch, often riding a horse
Compounds
Surface Forms
Morphology
puncher = cowpuncher (opaque) = punch + er
This sense is historically and lexically tied to 'cowpuncher' (cowboy); knowing 'punch' + '-er' does not lead learners to 'ranch hand'.
Etymology
Puncher for a ranch worker comes from the longer word cowpuncher, literally a person who 'works' cows. So a puncher is a cowboy or hired hand who tends cattle on a ranch.