bridge gang

plural bridge gangs · alternative bridge-gang

1. A crew tasked with building, repairing and/or maintaining railway bridges.

   He passed the bridge gang, hard at work strengthening the piers on one of the trestles over the Roaring Fork.

   2003, Cathy L. Clamp, Road to Riches: The Great Railroad Race to Aspen, page 142

2. The crew working on the bridge of a ship.

   “I thought you were going aft,” Keefer shouted peevishly, his form dim in the smoke. He and the bridge gang were putting on life jackets.

   1951, Herman Wouk, chapter 38, in The Caine Mutiny, page 452

   1 more example

   As the officer of the deck stepped to the bullhorn and sang out to the tug wallowing off the starboard bow, Hansen felt tension strike the bridge gang, and his own euphoria vanished.

   1970, John Boyd, chapter 1, in Sex and the High Command, page 2

3. A group of people who regularly gather to play bridge (card game).

   I remember as a girl watching Celeste and her bridge gang sneak gin in the afternoons.

   1978, Rita Mae Brown, Six of One, page 8