Talk:lawn-mower

Am I out to lunch on this one? I thought lawn mower was a person who mows, while a lawnmower was the machine used to do that mowing? Is it the other way around? --Connel MacKenzie 23:06, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

• My understanding is that "lawn mower" is the machine, and that "lawnmower" is just an alternative spelling. None of my dictionaries gives a definition for the person operating the machine. SemperBlotto 08:13, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

I think both can be both. Widsith 08:19, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

Checking the online OED, I find it is inconsistent: it says lawn-mower is a machine, mower can be a person or a machine (the def for the machine says (now chiefly) a lawnmower), but then does not have lawnmower as a headword. (It's good to see that even expensive dictionaries are sometimes inconsistent.) Personally, I only recall seeing lawn mower as the person, and lawnmower as the machine, the same as Connel. --Enginear 13:27, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

• I have added citations (from google print) to all three spellings (including lawn-mower) But I couldn't find any for the meaning of the person who operates one (there are lots of citations to look through) SemperBlotto 13:59, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

• For me, any of lawnmower, lawn-mower, lawn mower, or just mower are always the machine. I don't think I've ever heard a specific term used for the operator; that'd just be gardener or landscaper or groundskeeper or, if absolutely necessary, lawnmower operator or lawnmower driver. —scs 16:48, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

According to the Random House, it’s lawn mower for both the machine and the person. —Stephen 11:27, 12 September 2006 (UTC)

Discussion to all three pages. Andrew massyn 18:45, 12 October 2006 (UTC)