Meaning

A boy employed in a plant nursery to tap clay pots with a stick for their ringing sound, indicating whether the plant required watering..

Definitions by Sense

1. A boy employed in a plant nursery to tap clay pots with a stick for their ringing sound, indicating whether the plant required watering.
2. A boy employed as waiter to serve (pots of) drinks, as in a tavern.
3. (British) A boy or man employed in a public house to collect empty pots or glasses.

Example Sentences

GC&HTJ 1985 volume 198 page 17

I put on my kitchen potboy disguise and rode down to B-1 in an elevator that smelled like chicken soup, barbecue sauce, and Jack Daniel's.

(“Hoo-roa,” ejaculates a pot-boy in a parenthesis, “put the kye-bosh on her, Mary.”)

Word Forms

• potboys
• pot boy
• pot-boy

Synonyms for potboy

Related Words

When Should You Use Potboy?

Use potboy when its meaning, tone and grammar fit the full sentence. A synonym is not always a direct replacement.

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