visiting fireman
- noun
- Archaic
:
visitante distinguido
- The company is hosting a visiting fireman from their headquarters this week.
Examples
-
The visiting fireman praised the local fire department.
-
A visiting fireman from Chicago is here today.
-
As a visiting fireman, he toured several branch offices during his short stay.
-
Whenever a visiting fireman arrives, everyone rushes to make a good impression.
-
The company is hosting a visiting fireman from their headquarters this week.
-
As a visiting fireman, he toured several branch offices during his short stay.
-
Whenever a visiting fireman arrives, everyone rushes to make a good impression.
Synonyms
908
1.0
A person who goes to a place for a short time to see someone or something
1
9.8
A person who goes to a place to see people or things, often in old writing
A woman from another organization invited to give talks or advice
A person who visits a place for a short time
How Important
31
6.9
- Formal
34
3.5
- Archaic
∞
1.0
908
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
visiting + fireman
The literal constituents ('visiting' = going to see; 'fireman' = firefighter) would be interpreted as a firefighter who is visiting, which does not yield the provided sense of 'an important or distinguished visitor.' Because the intended meaning is not derivable from the known meanings of the parts and appears idiomatic or anomalous, a B1 learner would not predict it from the constituents.
Etymology
Visiting fireman may come from the image of a skilled fireman who was visiting other stations or factories to check boilers and help with real fires. Because he came from outside and did important work, the phrase came to mean 'an important or distinguished visitor'.