candy striper
5
8.9
- noun
- /ˈkændi ˈstraɪpər/
- Archaic
:
voluntaria
- "The candy stripers are good for morale, but they take a lot of looking after.
- candy striper in a hospital
- worked as a candy striper
Examples
-
I was a kind of a candy striper myself.
-
Sadie: Yeah, I was a candy striper.
Fiction book (2000) -
A candy striper approaches them.
Fiction book (1999) -
Lately we've been getting candy stripers with a more Christian outlook.
Fiction book (1990) -
Three candy-striper volunteers.
-
When I worked as a candy striper in a nursery in 1981, I was instructed to scrub and change my outer gown between babies.
Blog text (23) -
During the summer, I volunteered as a candy striper at the local hospital, helping the staff.
-
As a candy striper, she enjoyed brightening the days of patients with her cheerful visits.
-
He decided to become a candy striper to gain experience in healthcare while giving back to the community.
Surface Forms
Morphology
candy + striper
The meaning 'a young hospital volunteer' is not transparently derived from 'candy' (sugary food) and 'striper' (an uncommon or non-standard form); the term refers historically to people wearing candy-striped uniforms, a culturally specific source that is not compositional. A B1 learner who knows the constituent words would not reliably infer 'volunteer' without prior cultural exposure, so the expression is idiomatic and opaque.
Etymology
Candy striper comes from the red-and-white striped uniform young volunteers wore, which looked like a candy wrapper or a candy cane. That's why candy striper now means 'a young volunteer' who helps in a 'hospital'.