gaffers

Noun (1)

gaffer (plural gaffers)

1. A chief lighting technician for a motion-picture or television production.
2. A glassblower.
   • The apprentice carries a gather of glass on the blowpipe to the gaffer's bench […]2003, Jennifer Bosveld, Glass Works, page 18
3. Someone aboard a boat whose duty is to gaff a (large) fish once the angler has reeled it in.

Noun (2)

gaffer (plural gaffers)

1. (colloquial) An old person, usually a man.
   • If thou return not, Gammer o'er her pail
     Will sing in sorrow, 'neath the brinded cow,
     And Gaffer sigh over his nut-brown ale […]1845, Thomas Cooper, The Purgatory of Suicides, Book the Fourth, Stanza IX
2. (UK, informal) The leader of a group or team, such as a boss, foreman, coach, or publican.
   • And you're here to tell me what's what. Just like your bloody gaffer promised.2022, Liam McIlvanney, The Heretic, page 117
3. A sailor.

See all 8 meanings of gaffer