climbing boy

noun — 2 senses

nounalso spelled climbing-boy

Etymology From the fact that boys were often sold into labor to “climb” chimneys in the 1800s.

Historical A small child employed by a chimney sweep to ascend and clean flues.

climbing-boy

noun

Historical A chimney sweep's young male assistant who climbed up the chimneys.

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — authors: page histories for climbing boy and climbing-boy.