[From the Wiktionary]
Geezer is a British slang term, in its simplest form
meaning a man.

Derived from the differently pronounced 'guiser', a
name for an actor in a mime. [1] Possibly related to
disguise. In this sense it refers to a kind of everyman.

It may be used in a number of senses; to refer to a
man whose name you do not know, similar to use of the
word guy. It is also used to refer to a man who is
overtly manly, masculine, or heterosexual, also someone
noticeably capable, reliable, plainspeaking or down-to-earth.
Although essentially a masculine quality it is not
synonymous with macho however, and its usage may be
thought of as very similar to that of the US English
word dude. Example: Joe Cole referred to Prince William
as a 'nice, relaxed geezer.' [2] In the British 1971
pop song by the Piglets, aka Jonathon King, 'Johnny
Reggae' was described as being 'a real tasty geezer'.

In the United States and Canada, geezer generally refers
to an old man, or more liberally, any old person, usually
eccentric. This may derive from redundant use of the
word old in English as in: who's that old geezer? where
the subject is not necessarily an elderly person. [3].
This is an example of etymological contamination.

In Australia, the term geezer is often used to refer
to someone from England, due to the belief that the
English say geezer a lot; however, it is not as popular
as the term pommy.[citation needed]

Because the population is aging in America, the term
is slowly being broadened to include older women as
well and imply a kind of colorful eccentricity, as
well. For example, The Geezer Brigade, an online humor
organization for 'clever old people', is split between
men and women whose average age is 70.
[End of quote]

The Germans have a term Geise which means an old man
and it is a very respectful term.

[edit] Other usesAt 21:54 28 December 2007, Frank Whiteley
wrote:
On Dec 28, 2:45 pm, Eric Greenwell wrote:
Frank Whiteley wrote:
You will get much less objection to establishing
a new gliderport with
a winch than a tow plane. Land can also be mixed
use, and leased,
rather than purchased. Local regulations can be
problematic or not.
If you are in a club, you will likely get more objection
from your
geezer members to setting up a winch only club than
you will from
neighbors.

I'd like to ask a favor of everyone: let's find a
more accurate and less
prejudicial term than 'geezer' for people that don't
want change or
reflexively favor aerotow. It's gratuitous, and disparagement
apparently
based on age isn't going to win any of the friends
we'll need to improve
soaring. It may also blind people to the fact that
a lot of us 'geezers'
support smaller, simpler, lighter, and cheaper soaring.

Maybe 'reflexive aerotow promoters', 'anti-change
group', or
'short-sighted club officers'?

Or even skip the label entirely. The above statement
could have used
'some members' just as effectively as 'geezer', especially
since the
poster was just speculating.

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA
* Change 'netto' to 'net' to email me directly
* 'Transponders in Sailplanes'http://tinyurl.com/y739x4
* 'A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation'
atwww.motorglider.org

Even though I am one, I apologize. Resistence to change
comes at any
age when someone's comfort level is challenged.

Frank