jawsmith
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 0.00 in modern English
23
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
2
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A union organizer; later especially of the International Workers of the World.
American usage; Slang
Example Sentences
- "[Phil LaGassly] had a knack for winning over tough audiences, throwing in little asides and an unscripted joke or two as he went along. […] Andy [LaGassly's speechwriter] would sprinkle in a fair amount of substance here and there, wherever he could, always making sure he came up with a few catchy phrases that were conducive to huzzah; and LaGassly could be counted on to deliver them in exactly the right way. It had been quite an act–the jawsmith and the wordsmith […]"
- "One professional jaw-smith, who came as the self-appointed messenger of American labor wanted a Chinese-wall tariff, and subsidized ships to carry cargoes one way and ballast the other."
- "The evolutions and involutions of a maiden effort at Dress Parade are incomprehensible as ravings of the salaried jawsmith in a labor strike, who has burst into a profuse state of prevarication as the rosy beer-froth mantles his sublime cheek."
- "Many Wobblies became "jawsmiths," or organizers, themselves. While working at their regular jobs they would hitchhike and boxcar-hop across the country, stopping off at factory towns and lumber camps, speaking and singing at the top of their lungs."
- "The life of a "jawsmith", as IWW speakers and agitators were called […] Fatigue, burnout and overexhaustion are the diseases of the jawsmith trade."