dirtsider

dirtsider

English

Etymology

dirtside +‎ -er

Noun

dirtsider (plural dirtsiders)

1. (science fiction, often derogatory) Someone who lives on the surface of a planet or moon, as opposed to in space.
   • 1998, Jerry Oltion, Where Sea Meets Sky, Pocket Books (1998), →ISBN, page 23:

     He really hadn't been in space before. You can always tell a dirtsider by the twinkle in their eyes at the idea of seeing their planet from above.

   • 2001, Roger MacBride Allen, The Depths of Time, Random House (2001), →ISBN, page 378:

     So you tell me, Senyor Parrige, how many habitats would be willing to take on their maximum possible population load in the form of half-starved, uneducated, indigent, disease-ridden dirtsiders who know nothing of habitat life and have no skills that are of much use in space?

   • 2010, Shayla Kersten, Angel Moon, Ellora's Cave (2010), →ISBN, page 52:

     As a dirtsider, the idea of dying in the cold of space terrified him, though he'd never admit it to his space-loving mate.

Related terms

• dirtside