Glossary entry

English term or phrase:

black collar professional

English answer:

all the collars of the rainbow

Added to glossary by jerrie
Feb 10, 2003 09:28
21 yrs ago
3 viewers *
English term

black collar professional

English Bus/Financial
I know about white, blue and pink collar jobs, but this is a new one for me. My search on the internet yielded results to do with either clergy and goths - but these do not fit the context, which is business travellers. Can anyone enlighten me?

Discussion

Mads Grøftehauge Feb 11, 2003:
Why not clergy? Priest (not to mention nuns) travel.

Responses

+5
4 mins
Selected

all the collars of the rainbow

In the Wordspy Link...
But I wonder if their 'black collar - mining / dirty collar will work for you in a travelling business context'?

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Note added at 2003-02-10 09:34:11 (GMT)
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Gray-collar workers (1981): Skilled technicians; employees whose job descriptions combine some white- and some blue-collar duties.


Black-collar workers (1998): Miners (especially coal miners) and oil workers.


Pink-collar workers (1975): Secretaries and other clerical staff.


Green-collar workers (1984): Environmentalists.


Gold-collar workers (1985): Professionals or those with in-demand skills; employees over 55.


Scarlet-collar workers (2000):Female pohr.noh.GRAF.ik shop operators. (I\'ve use the pronunciation of the p-word here to avoid getting this post trapped in anti-p-word filters.)


Dog-collar workers (1991): Priests.


Open-collar workers (1988): People who work at home.


Frayed-collar workers (1995): Workers having trouble making ends meet; the working poor.


Steel-collar workers (1980): Robots.

...



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Note added at 2003-02-10 18:34:27 (GMT)
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Travelling salesmen living out of a suitcase - \'black collar\' - think seedy, or the fact that their collars get dirty (black) and are shoved back in the suitcase (or re-worn), or they wear black to hide the marks!


dirty-white-collar
(DUR.tee-wyt-kaw.lur) adj. Relating to a corrupt, seedy, or criminal businessperson.
Peer comment(s):

agree Steffen Walter : :-)))
43 mins
agree Norbert Hermann : first time I see them all :-)); take it ... means there are more.
5 hrs
agree Nancy Arrowsmith : learn something new every day
6 hrs
Certainly do! Thanks
agree Antonio Camangi : nice to know
8 hrs
neutral Mads Grøftehauge : Great list (as in funny), but the question was 'black collar professional' not 'black collar worker'.
1 day 1 hr
true, but context is still 'business traveller'...which makes me think of travelling salesmen...
agree KORNELIA ZWIÓR-HOŁENKO : then many of us are a combination of open and gold... :-))
1 day 5 hrs
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Graded automatically based on peer agreement. KudoZ."
1 min

modern business gypsy

see link

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Note added at 2003-02-10 09:31:07 (GMT)
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quote: Today’s professional is in a state of perpetual motion, moving from city to city, country to country, as simply as others might navigate the neighborhoods of their hometown. The modern “business gypsy” needs apparel that can think for him, a collection of individual pieces that combine effortlessly and endlessly, allowing him to forget about the day to day trouble involved in looking good all the time.

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Note added at 2003-02-10 09:34:56 (GMT)
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The way I see it, the modern business traveller wants to travel light, and having a wardrobe constisting of matching clothing in all shades of black makes it easy to combine and hence the traveller is always properly dressed for any occasion
HTH
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3 mins

Those business people

always wearing dark suits, white shirts and a tie, such as yuppies working at the stock exchanges. White collar does not necessarily imply wearing a suit, shirt and tie.
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+2
2 hrs

media, advertising, consultancy professionals

If you don't think it's metaphorical (such as 'pink collar'), the only people who come to my mind are the black turtleneck crowd found in the world of communication, advertising etc.

I the author is trying to be original, you're not meant to be able to find too many references on the net.

Note that I'm guessing here.

Mvh.
Mads

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Note added at 2003-02-11 11:13:21 (GMT)
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Added after Steffen and Erikas notes:

I did a little digging and found quite a few mentions on the web of \'black collar crime\'. Most take it to mean clerical sex offenders, but a few are actively promoting the term for judicial corruption.

So if that is anything to go by, a black collar professional can be either a priest or a judge.

In terms of air travel, maybe the most likely group to single out is the clergy. Although we don\'t know what the context is specifically.
Peer comment(s):

agree Steffen Walter : may well be true
1 hr
agree Erika Pál (X) : an inventive approach…and as for the webpage:-))) + (I wear B turtleneck almost every day - I guess my "dirty little secret" is out:-)
7 hrs
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