Often in sports I hear of the “professionals” and the “weekend warriors” (people who otherwise have non-sports related jobs and work hard on the weekends to train themselves to participate).
I can’t tell if this phrase is meant to be derogatory. Is it meant to mean “these people are warriors who, on top of everything, also train for their sport”, or is it meant to mean “these people are just adding an interesting hobby on the weekends and aren’t real contenders in this sport”?
Answer
Actually, no dictionary defines the expression as derogatory, for instance, from AHD:
weekend warrior
n. InformalOne who enthusiastically engages in an activity or hobby on the weekends outside of regular employment:
- “Despite the dangers, wreck divers are typically weekend warriors who leave families and jobs behind to test themselves at two hundred feet down” (New Yorker).
Attribution
Source : Link , Question Author : Michael Stachowsky , Answer Author : user 66974