weekend warrior

Noun

weekend warrior (plural weekend warriors)

1. A part-time soldier, or reservist.
   • Such was the pace with which I, and many like me, the so called ‘weekend warriors’ or Territorial Army, were hoisted aboard the Gulf War battle wagon.
   • At Anacostia, the training that is done to naval aviators who are in the Reserve Services, weekend warrior(s) as it were, and they come to Anacostia to get their refresher training.1956, US Senate Subcommittee on Real Estate and Military Construction, Military Public Works Construction, U.S. Government Printing Office, page 290
2. (humorous) A person who indulges in a sport or pastime on an infrequent basis, usually on weekends when work commitments are not present.
   • The most common foot-related injury I see for the weekend warrior is heel pain.
   • Whoever camped here was no weekend warrior neither because round the tanks I saw old kero tins with veggies growing in them.2018, Tim Winton, The Shepherd's Hut, Picador UK Paperback edition 2018, p. 95

   Synonyms:

   amateur, dabbler

   Antonyms:

   lifestyler