quill-driver
Definition
- Noun (humorous or slightly derogatory):
- A writer or clerk: "quill-driver" refers to a person who writes for a living, especially in a clerical or journalistic capacity. The term is archaic and often used jokingly to describe someone who spends much time writing, as if driving a quill pen across paper.
Usage Examples
- (A humorous self-reference to a writer.)
- (Referring to clerks or scribes.)
Advanced Usage
- The term is rarely used in modern English except in historical novels or self-deprecating humor. It carries a tone of mild mockery or affectionate teasing.
- He spent his days as a quill-driver, churning out articles for the town gazette. (Describing a journalist with a hint of irony.)
Variants and Related Words
- Quill (n): a pen made from a bird's feather, historically used for writing.
- She dipped the quill into the inkwell. (The writing instrument itself.)
- Driver (n): one who drives or operates something; here, used metaphorically to mean "one who uses" a quill.
- Pen-pusher (n): a similar humorous term for a clerk or office worker (more common in modern English).
- He complained about being a pen-pusher, stuck in a boring job. (A derogatory synonym for a clerical worker.)
Synonyms
- Scribe: a person who copies documents, especially before printing.
- Clerk: an office worker who handles records or correspondence.
- Journalist: a writer for newspapers or magazines (a more modern equivalent).
Related Idioms
- To drive a quill: an archaic phrase meaning to write with a quill pen.
- In the quiet study, he drove his quill across the parchment. (He wrote laboriously by hand.)
- To be a quill-driver: to be a writer or clerk.
- She was known as a quill-driver in the publishing house. (A playful or dismissive term for her profession.)