copyboy

[ kop-ee-boi ]

noun

1. an employee who runs errands and carries copy from desk to desk in a newspaper office.

Word History and Origins

Origin of copyboy¹

First recorded in 1885–90; copy + boy

Example Sentences

Maybe answering that question could be the Ph.D. thesis I was headed toward 66 years ago when I answered that ad for copyboy in the late, lamented sports department of the New York Times.

From Salon

He'd been a Daily News copyboy when the music columnist OD'd.

From Salon

A little after six thirty that evening, a copyboy walked in with a stack of papers.

From Literature

He tells an anecdote about something foolish he did when he was a copyboy, then famously says, “Just wanted you to know I’ve done dumber things than get us lost, that’s all.”

From Los Angeles Times

As a copyboy and then reporter at the Evening Star, he witnessed up close various milestones in the civil rights movement and the Kennedy presidency from inception to tragic end.

From Los Angeles Times