linesman
/ˈlʌɪnzmən
/noun (plural linesmen)
1(In games played on a field or court) an official who assists the referee or umpire from the touchline, especially in deciding whether the ball is out of play.Gerrard's just been fouled making for the penalty area, but the referee and the linesman are having none of it....
- Under advice from the linesman, the referee awards a free-kick to AC Milan about 40 yards out for no apparent reason.
- Both referee Dunn and his linesman missed the contact and Henry was furious.
2British A person employed for the repair and maintenance of telephone or electricity power lines.Quite strangely, the telephone linesmen are hard at work, repairing all the lines and replacing broken posts that lead to the very edge of the sea....
- As old timers say, one can draw a rough comparison between some of the linesmen of the telephones department and the average English-speaking executive at the cellular service provider's call centre.
- I doubt health care workers, telephone linesmen, or auto painters have the same kind of increased mortality risk, but this bill lumps them all in together.
