greenie Surfing slang.
(ˈgriːnɪ)
[f. green a. + -ie.]
A large wave before it breaks.
| 1962 Austral. Women's Weekly (Suppl.) 24 Oct. 3/2 Greenie, a big wave before it breaks into white foam. 1970 Studies in English (Univ. of Cape Town) I. 27 A wave can be a mere green back, or greenie, but more often it is a roller, grinder, pounder or dumper. |
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Restrict Surfing slang to sense in Dict. and add: 2. A person who is committed to environmentalism or ecology; one concerned about environmental issues, a conservationist. Cf. green a. 11 and n. 17. colloq. (orig. Austral.).
| 1973 Nation Rev. (Melbourne) 28 Sept. 1572/1 The local greenies have despaired of stopping the dreaded post office tower by indirect means. 1978 Truckin' Life II. vii. 77 There is a nice old barney going on involving..the motor industry and the ‘greenies’ over the question of vehicle emission controls. 1988 Sunday Mail (Brisbane) 24 Jan. 16/7 It seems to me the whole thing has become political with ill-informed politicians desperately trying to attract greenie votes. 1990 Times 23 Mar. 11/6 These Greenies want to stop everything—logging, mining, farming, cattle rearing, the lot. |