ditch digger
1
4.2
- noun
- /dɪtʃ ˈdɪɡər/
:
excavador de zanjas
- For example, a ditch digger could be replaced by a machine that dug ditches, and the cost of digging ditches would go down quickly, creating a profit for the entrepreneur buying the machines and the company making the ditch-digging machines.
So he was a ditch digger originally.
- So he was a ditch digger originally.
Examples
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He works as a ditch digger, constructing trenches for new pipelines.
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I wish there were not such a social stigma toward careers that require little formal education; some students who fail at English would be great ditch diggers!
Blog text (13) -
So he was a ditch digger originally.
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"The world needs ditch diggers too!"
Blog text (18) -
"The USA needs ditch diggers also."
Blog text (24) -
Salisbury: Movies need ditch diggers, too.
Blog text (13) -
Tragic, but the world needs ditch diggers too, old chap.
Blog text (31) -
That's not bad for the son of a ditch-digger from Wharton, Texas.
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He falls into the abyss of poverty, becomes a ditch digger digging trenches for cables, phone lines for Western Union.
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The ditch digger used a machine to excavate the ground quickly and efficiently.
Synonyms
16
2.8
A person who digs holes or trenches as their job
1
3.6
A person who uses a digging tool to move snow or soil
1
7.4
A person or tool that digs in the ground to find things
1
4.2
A person or machine that digs long narrow trenches to move water
1
9.9
A person who digs long narrow holes in the ground for pipes or defence
1
8.9
A person who digs the ground for work, like a miner or archaeologist
A person who digs ditches or trenches in muddy ground
A person who digs or turns soil with a spade
A person who digs holes in the ground or wood
How Big
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a person or machine who digs ditches' is directly compositional from 'ditch' (a trench) + 'digger' (one who digs), so the overall sense is immediately derivable from the parts. This noun–noun compound follows a common, cross-linguistic pattern, making it readily understandable to a B1 learner who knows both constituents.
Etymology
Ditch digger comes from the simple image of someone digging a long, narrow hole called a ditch, and the word digger for the person or machine doing the work. So it means 'a person or machine whose job is to dig ditches or trenches'.