mine captain, noun phrase

Origin:
EnglishShow more English, overseer of a mine. First used in English c1860, but rare.
The overseer of an area of a mine. Also attributive.
1899 J.H. Curle Gold Mines of World 7The mine captain..is usually a most capable man.
1922 Rand Daily Mail in J. Crwys-Williams S. Afr. Despatches (1989) 237She was the mother of a mine captain.
1955 A. Delius Young Trav. in S. Afr. 43In came a broad healthy-looking young man. He was a mine-captain, they learnt, and he would be their guide...The ‘captain’..said ‘Actually, I’m just plain Mister...Most of the mine-workers have very unflowery names like shift-bosses, skipmen, onsetters.’
1971 Sunday Times 9 May 8The famous Cullinan Diamond..was found at the Premier Mine, Cullinan, by Mr. Frederick Wells, a mine captain, on June 12, 1905.
1971 Daily Dispatch 11 May 10Workers at the Impala Platinum Mine here decided unanimously at a meeting to demand the sacking of a mine captain and a shift boss.
1972 S. Afr. Panorama May 37Mining is an exacting profession demanding a great deal of fitness, as mine captain Ginger Kimmings..can testify.
1989 Sunday Times 19 Nov. 9Mine captain Harry Player took two overdrafts in his life.
The overseer of an area of a mine. Also attributive.
Entry Navigation

Visualise Quotations

Quotation summary

Senses

18991989