Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun An old person, especially an eccentric old man.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun Contemptuous, Slang. A queer old fellow; an old chap; sometimes, an old woman.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun informal, chiefly UK, dated in US A
male person. - noun informal An
old person, usually a male. - noun UK A device for
boiling water for suchdomestic uses as heating or washing; aboiler . The normal spelling is watergeyser .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a man who is (usually) old and/or eccentric
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
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Examples
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Except when Brokeback Mountain lost: that was the last surge, the last stand of what I call the 'geezer vote'.
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I am very saddend that this old geezer is still around still sucking at the public trough.
I'm 'saddened' by 'vicious attacks' on Palin, McCain says 2009
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We should all boycott CBS and its advertisers unitl the old geezer is fired.
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This old geezer is what is wrong with Washington D.C. That should tell you why he supports Hillary!
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This old geezer is a walking, talking ball of contradictions, lies, malaprops and scary, “Dr. Strangelove” type personalities.
The Early Word: The War, at Home and Abroad - The Caucus Blog - NYTimes.com 2008
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More proof that this old geezer is pandering to Clinton supporters.
McCain incorrectly denies criticizing media's Clinton coverage 2008
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The frisky geezer is someone who never got the memo to stick to golf from here on out.
Archive 2007-09-09 Bill Crider 2007
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The frisky geezer is someone who never got the memo to stick to golf from here on out.
And Keep off Our Damn Lawns! Bill Crider 2007
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And to be accused, as I was, of being a dodgy geezer, which is probably on the basis on my accent, I think that's a really poor show.
Met Police commissioner agrees to questioning over phone hacking scandal 2011
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The geezer was a sheet-iron contraption in the shape of a pocket inkstand, and it stood on a perch in the corner, like a Russian icon, with a small blue flame flickering beneath it.
Europe Revised 1910
yarb commented on the word geezer
See comments on mesonoxian. To me this word doesn't in itself connote old age or eccentricity (although it's very often modified by dodgy or old), but is more or less a synonym of bloke, except with a slight imputation of seediness (you wouldn't call someone "a good geezer", but you might use it neutrally, e.g. "who's that geezer?").
Is this a US/UK difference? I had assumed this word was peculiar to BrE, but apparently not. Is it widespread in the US? I've never heard it used on this side of the Atlantic.
April 15, 2009
gangerh commented on the word geezer
Cannot speak for the US, yarb, but as an eccentric old geezer myself, I generally concur. Only generally, though, for I am also a good geezer. Signed gangerh, aka geezerh.
April 15, 2009
rolig commented on the word geezer
In the US, I think this word always refers to an old man, not just any man, and underscores this person's unattractiveness because of his age: How could a babe like Catherine Zeta-Jones marry a geezer like Michael Douglas?
But I have been out of the US for a number of years and watch a lot of British TV, so I'm never 100% about the more subtle cross-pond (transpond?) distinctions.
April 15, 2009
sionnach commented on the word geezer
I think geezers are generally "old", so that the term has slightly age-ist* connotations, but that it is otherwise neutral. There may even be a somewhat positive overtone of feistiness.
Now codger. That's a different kettle of fish entirely.
*: Yes, I hate this term as much as you probably do, but it seemed like the most economical option, given the context.
April 15, 2009
mollusque commented on the word geezer
Around here (Philadelphia area), geezers are old and male. They drive under the speed limit, hitch their pants up above the navel, and are less likely than codgers to be feisty.
April 15, 2009
strev commented on the word geezer
The geezers here (Ontario) do all that mollusque said whilst wearing Fedoras. If you see a car with the turn signal left on, chances are the old coot is wearing a hat.
April 15, 2009
dontcry commented on the word geezer
I like to shorten geezer to geez. Seems friendlier.
"The gas pedal is on the RIGHT, geez."
April 15, 2009
chained_bear commented on the word geezer
Rolig has nailed it. In the U.S. there is definitely a negative connotation; it isn't a neutral thing, such as "bloke." A geezer is always old, I can't think of an instance where it's applied to a female, and he's generally negative (e.g. Michael Douglas). There is often a comical aspect to its usage.
April 15, 2009
pterodactyl commented on the word geezer
I'll add my vote to the growing North American consensus -- here in upstate New York, "Geezer" refers to someone who's really, really old. The word is informal, comical, and slightly pejorative.
April 16, 2009
chained_bear commented on the word geezer
I take umbrage. It is informal, pejorative, and slightly comical. I take umbrage, I say! Shall we, as they say, throw down?!
*is not really interested in throwing down with ptero or anyone else but is at a loss for what else to say to liven up a stupid day*
April 16, 2009
john commented on the word geezer
Mike Skinner, aka "The Streets," who is awesome, mentions geezers in every third song. He uses the term in the yarbian sense, generally talking about un- or under-employed British guys in their 20s, whose major activities include smoking dope and playing Grand Theft Auto. From "Geezers Need Excitement:"
Geezers need excitement.
If their lives don't provide them this,
they incite violence.
Common sense, simple common sense
April 16, 2009
yarb commented on the word geezer
Right, John. That's the general sense in BrE (note that this is a word strongly associated with the south of England). Or from It's too Late, off the same record (upon which Skinner has singularly failed to improve, although the 2nd album was very good in parts):
"Mate bells me to borrow money; I got two Henrys and a dealer to pay /
Call upon geezers to rid these green trees of my reeking jeans (?) /
Got a you-think-I-care air, outglaring geezers' stares".
April 16, 2009
reesetee commented on the word geezer
*determined not to have mollusque spot me driving around Philadelphia*
April 17, 2009
chained_bear commented on the word geezer
Usage here.
June 19, 2009