Talk:boomer

Tea room discussion

Note: the below discussion was moved from the Wiktionary:Tea room.

Hi. Can any of you left-ponders confirm a definition of a boomer as a person who catches rides on freight trains. Something similar to a hobo? -- ALGRIF talk 14:18, 3 September 2008 (UTC)

I think boomer in railroading refers to a recently hired worker, who would get the low-paying jobs, bad shifts, irregular assignments, and might be prone to making mistakes. Recently hired might mean recently fired from another railroad or just new to the industry, following changing seasonal job opportunities at different railroads, or just trying to gain seniority on the job. Etymology might relate to many of them being hired in "boom" times.

A ne'er-do-well railroader might be inclined to "ride the rails" to another railroad where he might get hired. There might be some transfer of meaning between railroad worker and hobo, in either direction. DCDuring TALK 15:14, 3 September 2008 (UTC)

• Yes. According to Green 1998, it's a US term for "a transient worker, a migrant" – from "S[tandard]E[nglish] (deprecated template usage) boom, an economic upswing; the US boomers moved from one boom oil camp to the next during the 1920s-30s". Ƿidsiþ 07:28, 4 September 2008 (UTC)

Thanks. I've added an entry. I'll try to find a quote to back it up. -- ALGRIF talk 10:55, 4 September 2008 (UTC)

Not elderly

"Boomer" as a generation is short for "baby boomer". People born in the 1950's. It is not used for old people. 79.106.209.100 10:01, 30 December 2022 (UTC)