codger en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- /ˈkɑd͡ʒəɹ/ (General-American, Ireland)
- /ˈkɒd͡ʒə/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- (Southern-England) audio
Etymology
Possibly derived from cadger (“hawker”). Or abbreviation of coffin dodger, but this is likely to be a folk etymology.
Meanings
-
(informal) An amusingly eccentric or grumpy and usually elderly man.
Now I was a forsaken codger snuffling disgracefully from a beautiful floozy's abuse.
1976 September, Saul Bellow, Humboldt’s Gift, New York, N.Y.: Avon Books, →ISBN, page 418:Jed, darling. The old codgers need to talk. Andrew's going to buy you a drink in that beautiful bar up on the terrace.
2016, 27:21 from the start, in The Night Manager, season 1, episode 4, spoken by Richard "Dicky" Onslow Roper (Hugh Laurie):‘I haven’t been drinking your health, my codger,’ replied Mr. Squeers; ‘so you have nothing to do with that.’
1839, Charles Dickens, Nicholas Nickleby:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| coger | alternative | lexicographic | |
| codgers | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
codgy · old codger · codgerly · codgerhood
Synonyms
gaffer · greybeard · old man · whitebeard · codger · gramps · old codger · old fart · antiquity · gadgie · geezer · unc
Translations (10)
cs dědek (an amusingly eccentric or grumpy and usually elderly man) · cs dědula (an amusingly eccentric or grumpy and usually elderly man) · fr grognon (an amusingly eccentric or grumpy and usually elderly man) · pl dziwak (an amusingly eccentric or grumpy and usually elderly man) · fr vieux bougon (an amusingly eccentric or grumpy and usually elderly man) · nl vreemde oude vent (an amusingly eccentric or grumpy and usually elderly man) · cs strejc (an amusingly eccentric or grumpy and usually elderly man) · fi äijänkäppänä (an amusingly eccentric or grumpy and usually elderly man) · nl brompot (an amusingly eccentric or grumpy and usually elderly man) · bg чешит (an amusingly eccentric or grumpy and usually elderly man)