pin boy

noun

1. (formerly) a person stationed in the sunken area of a bowling alley behind the pins who places the pins in the proper positions, removes pins that have been knocked down, and returns balls to the bowlers.

Word History and Origins

Origin of pin boy¹

First recorded in 1890–95

Example Sentences

By age 15, Lou was boxing in barroom smokers for $5 a bout and working as a bowling alley pin boy.

From New York Times

He began his working career as a pin boy at a Bethesda bowling alley, and he would later claim to have once bowled a perfect 300 game.

From Washington Post

Knipple, 68, said he began his life-long passion of bowling as a pin boy for Capital Lanes and other alleys in the area.

From Washington Times

Strangely, the job readily available to me was at the town bowling alley, where I worked one night a week as a pin boy.

From New York Times

To perform the job of pin boy, you sat perched above a pit on a wooden bench, hidden behind a latticework of machinery.

From New York Times