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Glite Dictionary
lollipop lady

lollipop lady

7.0
A woman who helps children cross the road near a school while holding a stop sign
  • noun
  • /ˈlɒlɪpɒp ˈleɪdi/
  • UK
translation icon : señora de la paleta
  • Every morning, the lollipop lady stands at the corner to help students cross the busy road.

Examples

  • For a start, the lollipop lady's only on duty a couple of hours.

    The History Boys (2006)

  • - Just don't let him go past the lollipop lady.

    The History Boys (2006)

  • The children waved goodbye to the lollipop lady after crossing the street safely.

  • The local council decided to hire more lollipop ladies to ensure children's safety near schools.

Synonyms

lollipop woman
vslollipop lady
  • UK
6.5

A woman who stops traffic to help children cross near a school

uses a different informal female label for the same job
lollipop man
vslollipop lady
  • UK
6.6

A person who stops traffic to help children cross the road near a school

names the same job but uses a male label instead of a female one

Surface Forms

lollipop lady singular
lollipop ladies plural

Morphology

lollipop + lady

The compound relies on a metaphorical extension of 'lollipop' (the circular sign on a stick) combined with 'lady' (a woman). Knowing the literal words does not reliably lead a B1 learner to the occupational meaning (school crossing guard) without cultural/region-specific knowledge, so the relation is partially but not fully transparent.

Etymology

Lollipop lady comes from the round stop sign she holds, which looks like a big lollipop on a stick. Schoolchildren began calling the woman with the sign a 'lollipop lady', so today it means a woman who 'helps children cross the road safely'.