be-er
nounEtymology From be + -er. Hyphenated to avoid confusion with the beverage beer.
1
One whose self-identity is in passive roles, such as experiencing and observing.
- That meant, among other things, that he was going to be a fast-moving doer. And even when he was three or four, it wasn't hard for me to know that this wasn't going to be easy. Because Albert was a beer. Born that way.1990, Budge Wilson, “Be-ers and Doers”, in The leaving, and other stories:
- they were also sentient citizens of a community that was exchanging the old idea of itself as a nation of doers and be-ers for a new vision of the U.S.A. as an atomized mass of self-conscious watchers and appearers.1997, David Foster Wallace, “E UNIBUS PLURAM: television and U.S. fiction”, in A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again: Essays and Arguments:
2 more examples
- 'Be-ers' or 'observers' assess a situation, see what's happening, and then take action if necessary2010, Liz Miller, Mood Mapping: Plot Your Way to Emotional Health and Happiness:
- The two types could be called the “doers” and the “be-ers.” They roughly correspond to “type A” and “type B” personalities2011, Shakti Gawain, Laurel King, Living in the Light:
- Coordinate terms
- doer