bean-eater, n.
Brit. /ˈbiːnˌiːtə/, U.S. /ˈbinˌidər/
[‹ bean n. + eater n. With sense 2a compare Beantown n.]
1. A person who habitually or frequently eats beans.
| 1710 tr. L. Maimbourg in tr. P. Bayle Dict. Hist. & Crit. II. 1466 (note) The Ancients..liv'd for their ordinary Diet, upon Pulse, to make their Voice clearer and finer; whence it is that the Heathens call'd those Singers, Bean-Eaters [Fr. mangeurs de Féves]. 1842 C. Matthews Career Puffer Hopkins ii. 19 A select circle of acquaintance, among wharfingers, small boatmen and bean-eaters. 1879 Atlantic Monthly Oct. 535/1, I saw in the window a card: ‘Bean Feasts and Parties Supplied’... I was..glad to see..that the bean-eaters had their little merry-makings and picnickings. 1925 A. Kinnosuke Manchuria vii. 162 Admittedly, the Japanese are the champion bean-eaters of the world. 2002 Calgary Herald (Nexis) 26 Sept. f2 For bean eaters, the new findings..may be, well, music to their ears. |
2. slang. a. U.S. A native, inhabitant, or representative of Boston, Massachussetts; = Beantowner n. at Beantown n. Derivatives.
In pl. freq. as a name or nickname for any of various Boston baseball teams.
| 1867 G. E. Clark Seven Yrs. of Sailor's Life 252 Take that, you bean-eater. 1889 Brooklyn Daily Eagle 25 Aug. 15/5 The [Giants]..will have to wake up and play ball if they intend to contest that place with the boasting Beaneaters. 1948 Chicago Tribune 23 May ii. 6/2 The second baseman of the Boston Beaneaters..never was noted for his long ball hitting. 1999 Washington Post (Electronic ed.) 21 Aug. c1 The brothers crack wise in their Hah-vahd Yahd beaneater accents. |
b. orig. and chiefly U.S. (derogatory and offensive). A person of Latin-American (esp. Mexican) origin. Cf. beaner n. 2.
| 1919 Dial. Notes 5 63 Bean-eater, a name given to the low class Mexicans. ‘That row of adobes is filled with bean-eaters.’ 1974 ‘A. C. Clark’ Cry Revenge! iv. 65 You and that..Mexican bean-eater done fucked me up! 1982 Guardian 2 July 13/2 ‘Argies’ and ‘bean-eaters’ had been the derisive nicknames for the enemy, on the long voyage south. 1995 L. Johnson Girls in Back of Class (1996) iii. 25 The first day of class, Mr. Lydecker pretended to read ‘Beaneater Lopez’ off the roll sheet, and Emilio walked out. |