night watchman

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Jump to navigation Jump to search

English

[edit]

Alternative forms

[edit]

Pronunciation

[edit]

Noun

[edit]

night watchman (plural night watchmen)

  1. (historical) Prior to police forces, a person appointed by a town or city to walk the streets at night and guard the burghers from felons and robbers.
  2. A person who guards (usually at a building) at night.
    • 1966, Bob Dylan (lyrics and music), “Visions of Johanna”, in Blonde on Blonde:
      We can hear the night watchman click his flashlight / Ask himself if it's him or them that's insane
  3. (cricket) A lower order batter to play the last overs in low light to save better batters for the next day's play.

Derived terms

[edit]

Translations

[edit]
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.