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navigator

(n): the ship's officer in charge of navigation
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about 1 year ago chained_bear said:

See also navvy. Now rare meaning: a construction worker; specifically a labourer employed in the construction of (originally) a canal, (now freq.) a road, railway, etc.

Usage:
Navigator, Navigator rise up and be strong
The morning is here and there's work to be done.
Take your pick and your shovel and the bold dynamite
For to shift a few tons of this earthly delight...
Their mark on this land is still seen and still laid
The way for a commerce where vast fortunes were made
The supply of an Empire where the sun never set
Which is now deep in darkness, but the railway's there yet.
--"Navigator," the Pogues, lyrics c. 1985 Shane Macgowan

Usage: 1969 J. FOWLES _The French Lieutenant's Woman_ xii. 90 ‘I feel like an Irish navigator transported into a queen's boudoir,’ complained Charles, as he kissed Ernestina's fingers in a way that showed he would in fact have made a very poor Irish navvy.

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vega (2493 words)
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