dusty miller
English
a dusty miller (Jacobaea maritima) plant. Longwood, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Pronunciation
Audio (AU) (file)
Noun
dusty miller (plural dusty millers)
- (idiomatic) A formulaic phrase for a miller, related to the dust generated in the milling process.
- 1829, Robert Chambers, The Scottish Songs, page 539:
- Hey, the dusty miller, / And his dusty coat! / He will win a shilling, / Ere he spend a groat. / Dusty was the coat, / Dusty was the colour; / Dusty was the kiss, / That I gat frae the miller.
- 2005: Baitinger, A, CAB abstract of "Miller - a job with promotion and opportunities for the future!", Mühle + Mischfutter, (Vol. 142) (No. 8) 233-272
- The stereotypical image of the "dusty miller", as depicted in popular legend and some traditional literature, is a barrier, and milling is seen by younger people as low-status. There is an urgent need to change this perception through measures such as changing the designation to something like "grain and feed processing technician" and improving training provision and prospects."
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- Any of several species of plants with leaves of a dusty appearance: Centaurea cineraria, Jacobaea maritima, Artemisia stelleriana, Spyridium parvifolium, and Silene coronaria, syn. Lychnis coronaria.
References
- For more on the "dusty miller" occupational stereotype, see the following document fragment: from Gerald Porter (1992) The English Occupational Song PhD dissertation, University of Umeå