Linkboy (Noun)
Meaning
(formerly) an attendant hired to carry a torch for pedestrians in dark streets.
Classification
Nouns denoting people.
Examples
- The wealthy merchants relied on a linkboy to guide them safely through the dimly lit alleys of 18th century London.
- A young orphan found work as a linkboy on the streets of Edinburgh, earning his keep by carrying a torch for paying customers.
- The pedestrians walked carefully behind the linkboy, who lit their way with his flaming pitch-soaked torch.
- In an era before streetlights, a linkboy was often the only means of navigating a city's dark and winding streets at night.
- A linkboy's torch cast flickering shadows on the walls as he led a group of revelers home from a late-night tavern.