Professional test. Word check.
If you sit down and start rattling off the different names of professions you can think of, I bet you that you will surprise yourself. In these days of hyper specialization, there are more professions (along with their specializations) than you can shake a stick at. Just think of the generic profession of “doctor”. Now think of how many different kinds of doctors you can think of – surgeons, podiatrist, oculist, optometrist, dentist, psychiatrist, cardiologist, anesthesiologist, immunologist, dermatologist, gynecologist, oncologist, pediatrician, urologist, rheumatologist…. you get the idea right?
Let’s try some unique words for professions today. Admittedly, some of these are uncommon these days.
Avoid writing the answers in the Comments section to give others a chance. However, feel free to write down how many answers you knew (just the number) before you start Googling.
1. Let’s start with the good old days when bows and arrows were the chief mechanism for hunting and defense. What do you call somebody whose job is to make bows? Believe it or not, there is a word for somebody who specializes in making arrows too. Do you know that name?
2. You will probably recognize who a blacksmith is. (worker of iron). Or a goldsmith or silversmith. Now, who is a redsmith? And who is a whitesmith?
3. Who is a catchpole?
4. There are carpenters who specialize in making chests and boxes (as opposed to doors, for example). What do you call them?
5. Who is a wainwright?
6. Long back, before alarm clocks were around, in England, there were professional people who would go around knocking on people’s doors and windows to wake them up on time. What were they called? (Interestingly, there was a time that professionals would dart peas out of a blowpipe to hit the windows of higher floors to wake people up on time!!!)
7. Making wigs is a profession unto itself. What are such wigmakers called?
8. Who is a castermonger?
9. You know all those cadavers that are used – for example – medical purposes? There are professional grave diggers who dig up recently buried coffins to retrieve the cadaver to be used for various purposes. What are they called?
10. And finally, who is a lector?
i only know 8. Selling fruits from hand-moving trolleys. 1/10. off to google for the others….
Costermonger, no?
yes, “costermonger”. as in “The corrupt costermonger”.
Ambarish and Padma, you guys are good! I did not know that word!!!
There is a novel “The corrupt costermonger”.
Comes of reading British authors and doing British cryptic crosswords:). Didn’t know most of the others, though.
I knew costermonger and the last one. All others stumped.
Vegan says: “people who sell meat are gross!”
Friend replies: “yes, but some who sells vegetables is grocer”
I’ll show myself out
Very funny, Dipanjan
Only 10…….one from me (might be known)…what was Devanand’s profession in the movie Guide after he quit his job of ‘Raju Guide’ (what he did was arranging programs for Waheda who was a dancer)
Cosmetics sales
1. Bowyers and fletchers. And people who make bows for stringed musical instruments are called archetiers in France.
2. A whitesmith is a tinsmith. And a whitesmith who works with copper or makes tools for copper is a redsmith.
3. A catchpole is a tax collector
4. Do you mean cabinetmakers?
5. A wainwright is a cartright.
6. Knocker up
7. Perruquiers. The wigs worn by barristers and judges in the UK are called perruques, I think.
9. Bodysnatchers
What were candle makers called? It was the name of one of the Friends.
What was a travelling whitesmith called?
Farrash, orderly, vistiwala, ferrywala, palkiwala, paperwala, and all the wallas and wallabies
Rajib Roy find out how the word masterpiece was coined.
This is not about apprentices creating a superior product to enter the class of masters, is it?
Nope it is about novices praising the master with one of his posts.
in the olden days, a sample horseshoe was made by the master and kept as a reference piece for the apprentices, novice to make another. The reference piece was known as Masterpiece as it was made by the master.
loved that reference…
Only 10
First for the credits…Padma, Ambarish, Vijaya and Sri Ganesh, looks like you folks knew at least one word more than me! I knew exactly zero of them. I was reading up about words for professions. And I picked from among the large set that I did not know.
Padma, looks like you had a successful Google search but one was not supposed to post them on the Comments section
Also, Sumitro and Dipanjan, thanks for the very funny responses
Oh sorry! Missed the part about not posting in the comments section. Am travelling and reading this stuff on my small phone screen. Shall be careful next time.
Now for the questions asked by Padma – I learnt from the same source where I was reading about the professions that a “chandler” is who makes candles.
I do not know what a traveling whitesmith is called, though.
A tinker.
And finally for the answers: Some of these are repeats from Padma’s postings:
1. A bowyer makes bows and a fletcher makes arrows
2. A redsmith works with copper and a whitesmith works with tin.
3. A catchpole is an official who chases down those with delinquent debts (a collection agent, if you will). I have to do the research some time – I suspect the “pole” has roots in somebody owing money and being on the run or something
4. An arkwright is somebody who specializes in making boxes, chests, coffins etc
5. A wainwright is somebody similarly who specializes in making wagons. It appears that “wright” is a root to mean some kind of profession like “smith” is.
6. Knocker-Up – that is somewhat unimaginatively named for people who knock on your doors to wake you up. Also, I am happy we do not have them anymore given the modern alternate meaning of that phrase 🙂
7. A peruker is somebody who makes wigs. An alternate word is chiffonier. (Padma found an alternate spelling – peruquier. I assume, by the use of “q” that it is the older and original spelling)
8. I have never read the novel that has been mentioned in the Comments section but costermonger is indeed somebody who sells fruits.
9. A resurrectionist – again rather literally named profession – who digs up freshly buried caskets to retrieve the cadavers.
10. Finally “lector” – the modern use for a lector is somebody who gives a speech or lecture in a church or university. However, that is not a profession. The original profession of a lector goes back to the advent of industrial age. To keep the factory workers who were toiling endless hours in repetitive tasks entertained, a “lector” would be hired to tell them stories – often humorous ones.
Not sure about you, but I learnt quite a few new words…
Rajib-da, waiting for your next episode in this 10-Q enrichment series.
Here’s another set of interesting professions:
1. Milliner
2. Coxswain
3. Chiffonier (this sounds so much nicer than the work involved)
4. Almoner
5. Gaunter
6. Amanuensis
7. Ostler
8. Haberdasher
9. Mangler
10. Victualer