Geezer is a
British slang term, in its simplest form meaning a
man. Derived from the differently pronounced 'guiser', a name for an actor in a
mime.
[1] Possibly related to
disguise. In this sense it refers to a kind of
everyman. It may be used in a number of senses; to refer to a man whose name you do not know, similar to use of the word
guy. It is also used to refer to a man who is overtly manly, masculine, or
heterosexual, also someone noticeably capable, reliable, plainspeaking or down-to-earth. Although essentially a masculine quality it is not synonymous with
macho however, and its usage may be thought of as very similar to that of the US English word
dude. Example:
Joe Cole referred to
Prince William as a "nice, relaxed geezer."
[2] In the British 1971 pop song by the Piglets, aka
Jonathon King, 'Johnny Reggae' was described as being "a real tasty geezer". In the
United States and
Canada,
geezer generally refers to an old man, or more liberally, any old person, usually eccentric. This may derive from redundant use of the word
old in English as in:
who's that old geezer? where the subject is not necessarily an elderly person.
[3]. This is an example of etymological
contamination. Because the population is aging in America, the term is slowly being broadened to include older women as well and imply a kind of colorful eccentricity, as well. For example,
The Geezer Brigade, an online humor organization for "clever old people", is split between men and women whose average age is 70. In
Australia, the term
geezer is often used to refer to someone from
England, due to the belief that the English say
geezer a lot; however, it is not as popular as the term
pommy.
