pinman

English

Etymology

pin +‎ -man

Noun

pinman (plural pinmen)

1. One whose job involves working with pins (any sense).
   • 1850, The Gentleman's Magazine - Volume 187, page 27:

     The modern haberdasher has swallowed up the mercer, the draper, the skinner, among the ancient trades, and the hosier, the glover, the needlemaker, the pinman, and we know not how many more, among more modern trades.

   • 1870, Extracts from the Manual of Signals: Signal Service Drills, page 32:

     The second pinman, similarly equipped, also accompanies the surveyor, and relieves the first when the pins of the latter are used up.

   • 1912, The Texas Civil Appeals Reports:

     In substance, it was alleged that appellee and two other members of a switch crew were engaged in transferring cars from one switch track to another, and that as he was walking upon and near the end of the last car but one, the pinman, as he is designated in the testimony, without notice or warning uncoupled the last car and signaled the engineer to reverse the movement of the train, which was suddenly done, thus throwing appellee forward and off the car.

   • 1942, The American Legion Magazine - Volumes 32-33:

     Of course, we sent a bunch of pretty good pinmen to Berlin in 1936 for all-out bowling war.

   • 2003, Edward Hoagland, Cat Man, page 56:

     The lay-out cat maneuvered, snorting and starting and stopping, and the pinman bobbed on and off, unhooking the wagons one by one.

   • 2009, Michael D. Guillerman, Face Boss, page 77:

     When the hole was drilled, the pinman slipped a 6 x 6 inch steel plate with a hole in the center over the end of a 4-foot, steel-ribbed glue pin, pushing it down to the head of the pin.

2. A rudimentary drawing of a figure, such as a stick figure.
   • 1969, The Irish Law Times and Solicitors' Journal - Volume 102, page 26:

     A red pinman means wait, a green pinman means cross, and he flashes when the crossing period is ending.

   • 1988, Ariel - Volume 13, page 53:

     Teacher divides the class into pairs and hands them cards bearing pinmen pictures showing passive actions.

   • 2017, Fiona Farrell, Decline and Fall on Savage Street, →ISBN, page 27:

     Here they were, tiny pinmen, on a suburban verandah, caught up in the tail of a comet 14 million miles away.