shop boy
1
2.7
- noun
- Archaic
:
dependiente
- The shop boy helped customers find what they needed in the store.
Examples
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Well, how does a shop boy afford all of this?
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Those auto-shop boys are true artistes.
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There are shop boys and there are boys who just happen to work in shops for the time being.
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I mean, I'm not a shop boy.
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I'm not a shop boy.
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The latter are likely garzoni, shop boys with the least responsibility in the project.
Academic text (2012) -
And trust me, Tristan, you're no shop boy.
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Tristan Thorn, shop boy by day, peeping Tom by night.
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As a shop boy, he learned how to manage inventory and assist with sales.
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Every day after school, the shop boy greeted regular customers with a smile.
Synonyms
1
1.2
A person who helps customers and sells things in a shop
1
1.9
A person who helps customers buy things in a store
A man who works in a shop and helps customers
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a young male who works as a shop assistant' is directly and compositionally derived from 'shop' (a place selling goods) + 'boy' (a young male). This follows a regular noun‑noun compounding pattern in English that a B1 learner who knows both constituents can readily infer, though the phrase may be somewhat informal or dated in usage.
Etymology
The noun shop boy comes from old shops where a boy did many small jobs: he ran errands, carried goods and helped the shop owner. That's why shop boy means 'a young male who works as a shop assistant' today.