elevator boy
1
8.2
- noun
- /ˈɛlɪˌveɪtər bɔɪ/
- Archaic
:
ascensorista
- The elevator boy remembered taking him down and that Thayar chick told him to tell Bertha they'd be back in a little while.
Examples
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The elevator boy found your hat.
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Maybe the elevator boy can tell us what time he went out.
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Will you ask the elevator boy for Mr. Ireland's hat, please?
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Get everybody talking about Alexander's Ragtime Band: the elevator boy, the chambermaid, the barber.
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The elevator boy assisted guests by taking them to their desired floors in the hotel.
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As I waited for the lift, the elevator boy greeted me with a friendly smile.
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The young elevator boy quickly learned the routes of the building to help guests find their way.
Synonyms
3
3.9
A person who stands in an elevator and moves it for people in a large building
1
5.5
A person who operates an elevator in a building
1
6.9
A young woman who operates an elevator in a department store or office building
A person who operates an elevator in a public building
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a young male who operates an elevator' is directly derivable from combining 'elevator' (the device) with 'boy' (a young male). This noun + person pattern (X boy = a boy who works with/at X) is a transparent, compositional formation common in English and mirrored in many languages, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would likely understand it.
Etymology
Elevator boy comes from the early days of elevators when they were run by people. Young boys stood inside the elevator to move it and press the buttons, so the phrase came to mean 'a young man who operates an elevator'.