water-cooler

See also: water cooler and watercooler

English

Noun

water-cooler (plural water-coolers)

1. Alternative form of water cooler.
   • 1845 July 11, The Daily Union, volume I, number 60, Washington City, page 238, column 6:

     Manufacturers of Fire and Thief Proof Chests, Refrigerators, Water-coolers, Filters, &c. Evans & Watson, […]

   • 1846 July 16, Fitzhugh Coyle, “Scott’s Patent Refrigerator”, in Alexandria Gazette, volume XLVII, number 168, Alexandria, Va., page [3], column 3:

     He has also in store Cortlan & Sons’ Improved Water-cooler, or Non-conductor of Heat. This is altogether the most convenient and economical water jar in use, and ought to be found in every counting-house and private family in the city.

   • 1883, Signal Service regulations; quoted in Gary K. Grice, editor, The Beginning of the National Weather Service: The Signal Service Years (1870 - 1891) as Viewed by Early Weather Pioneers, National Weather Service, 1991, page 5, column 1:

     Drinking vessels will not be used in taking medicine; nor will the taking of medicine at water-coolers be permitted.

   • 1972, John Brunner, The Sheep Look Up, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Row, page 382:

     You may say: how can we resist an enemy whose weapon is the very faucet at the sink, the very water-cooler we go to for relief in the factory or the office?

   • 1991, Peter Atkins, Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth‎^[1] (screenplay), via the Internet Movie Script Database, archived from the original on 2007-10-11, page 5:

     Doc - a 45 year old with a weight problem, a nicotine addiction, and a cynical attitude - lowers a shoulder-mounted Video camera and watches Joey walk to a water-cooler against a wall.

   • 2006 May 23, Michelle Thaller, “The great eclipse of 2006”, in The Christian Science Monitor‎^[2], archived from the original on 2006-05-26:

     Perhaps you have not noticed it, but there is a secret and growing brotherhood in our very midst. You might have overhead a group of its members at an amateur astronomy meeting somewhere, or perhaps just an innocent conversation over the water-cooler.

Adjective

water-cooler (comparative more water-cooler, superlative most water-cooler)

1. Alternative form of water cooler.
   • 2008 September 3, Sarah Lai Stirland, “Sarah Palin’s Campaign Debut Electrifies the GOP, Galvanizes The Twitterati”, in Wired‎^[3], San Francisco, C.A.: Condé Nast Publications, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2016-12-21:

     For amusing one-liners, news, and water-cooler chatter about Palin from the Twitterati, please keep checking in on our "McCain VP Watch" Twitter widget on our blog to the right.

   • 2022 March 27, Cory McCoy, “Richland looks at fixing traffic congestion without new bridge”, in Tri-City Herald, volume 120, number 86, page 8A, column 2:

     Discussion of a new bridge has been a staple of water-cooler gossip for decades.

   • 2023 March 31, Rick Reilly, “Meet the Queen Kong of Hoops, Iowa’s Caitlin Clark”, in Lexington Herald-Leader, volume 41, number 88, page 4B, column 1:

     She’s becoming a one-name water-cooler topic — Did you watch Caitlin last night?