ditchdigger
Canal excavation worker
A ditchdigger is a laborer who digs ditches by hand, or a machine that does the same work.
The term often appears in discussions of honest but unglamorous physical labor: My father was a ditchdigger who put three kids through college.
It sometimes carries class connotations, contrasting manual work with white-collar professions.
Tool for moving earth
- pickaxePointed digging implement
- hardhatProtective construction headwear
- workbootsDurable footwear for manual labor
- callusesThickened protective skin areas
sweat · muscle · blue-collar · toil · grit · workforce · crew · foreman
Hinged-arm excavating machine
- trencherWooden food board
- excavatorMachine that digs earth
- spadeFlat-bladed digging implement
- shovelTool for moving earth
pickaxe · wheelbarrow · earthmover · bulldozer · hoe · trowel · mattock · dredge
Tunnel for water passage
- irrigationArtificial water supply for agriculture
- runoffExcess water drainage
- stormwaterSurface flow from precipitation
- channelPassage for transmission
sewerage · pipe · outflow · aqueduct · catchment · gutter · watershed · trench
Long narrow excavation
- fortificationStrengthening defenses or nutrients
- entrenchmentFortified or fixed position
- earthworkConstructed soil structure
- sapperMilitary construction soldier
foxhole · dugout · parapet · rampart · defensive · siege · bunker · combat engineer
shovel
Tool for moving earth
- pickaxePointed digging implement
- hardhatProtective construction headwear
- workbootsDurable footwear for manual labor
calluses · sweat · muscle · blue-collar · toil · grit · workforce · crew · foreman · paycheck
backhoe
Hinged-arm excavating machine
shovel · pickaxe · wheelbarrow · earthmover · bulldozer · hoe · trowel · mattock · dredge · auger
culvert
Tunnel for water passage
- irrigationArtificial water supply for agriculture
- runoffExcess water drainage
- stormwaterSurface flow from precipitation
channel · sewerage · pipe · outflow · aqueduct · catchment · gutter · watershed · trench · grading
trench
Long narrow excavation
- fortificationStrengthening defenses or nutrients
- entrenchmentFortified or fixed position
- earthworkConstructed soil structure
sapper · foxhole · dugout · parapet · rampart · defensive · siege · bunker · combat engineer
- farmworkersfarmhand, farmworker, farm laborer, field hand, farm hand
- laborerslaborers, day laborer, day labourer, day laborers, manual worker
- diggersexcavator, backhoe, shovel, spade, pickaxe
ditchdiggerCEO
Top corporate officer
executive · aristocrat · lawyer · banker · tycoon
ditchdiggerintellectual
Concerning thought and reason
scholar · philosopher · academic · theorist · thinker
ditchdiggerbackfiller
One filling vacated spots
grader · paver · landscaper