coaster

plural coasters

1. A person who originates from or inhabits a coastal area.

   People said, "Eldridge. Of course, he's an old Coaster," and Eldridge, the middle-aged shipping agent, at the beginning of every meal would say, "Chop, as we call it on the Coast," or handing a plate of onions, "Violets, we say on the Coast."

   1936, Graham Greene, “The Cargo Ship”, in Journey Without Maps, 1st US edition, Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Doran & Company, →OCLC, part 1, page 27

2. nauticalA sailor (especially the master or pilot of a vessel) who travels only in coastal waters.

   Thus, with ſhort Plummets Heav'ns deep will we ſound, / That vaſt Abyſs where humane Wit is drown'd! / In our ſmall Skiff we muſt not launce too far; / We here but Coaſters, not Diſcov'rers are.

   1669 June (first performance), John Dryden, Tyrannick Love, or, The Royal Martyr. […], London: […] H[enry] Herringman, […], published 1670, →OCLC, Act IV, scene i, page 43

   1 more example

   If you question a seaman on the subject, whether mere coaster or circumnavigator, he will tell you that in a snow-storm, because of its constant eddyings and gyrations, frequent trimming of sails is more necessary than in any other gale, and that to steer a straight and steady course under such circumstances is for the time simply impossible.

   1881 April, “Snow Storm Gales”, in Symons’s Monthly Meteorological Magazine, volume XVI, number CLXXXIII, London: Edward Stanford, […], →OCLC, page 59

3. nauticalA merchant vessel that stays in coastal waters, especially one that travels between ports of the same country.

   Overhead, the black flag with the white skull-and-crossbones symbolizing defiance of radio regulations fluttered limply atop the two-hundred-foot mast mounted on the converted coaster from which they operated.

   1969, John Brunner, chapter IX, in Double, Double, London: Gateway, Hachette, published 2011, →ISBN

   2 more examples

   His father was skipper of a small coaster, from Bristol, and dying, left him, when quite young, to the care of his mother, by whose exertions he received a common-school education, passing his winters in school and his summers in the coasting trade, until his seventeenth year, when he left home to go upon foreign voyages.

   1840, R[ichard] H[enry] D[ana], Jr., chapter XXIII, in Two Years before the Mast. […] (Harper’s Family Library; no. CVI), New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers […], →OCLC, page 245

   The single line to Exmouth Docks curves round the back of the goods yard. […] The docks can handle vessels of up to 700 tons; on the day of my visit an English coaster was discharging coal and a Dutch coaster arrived with a cargo of wood pulp from Sweden.

   1960 May, R. C. Riley, “The Coastal Branches of South-East Devon: Part One”, in Trains Illustrated, London: Ian Allan Publishing, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 298

   Synonyms: coasting vessel

4. CanadaUSabbreviationellipsisEllipsis of coaster trout (“the brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) in Lake Superior and Maine”).
5. USA cow from the coastal part of Texas.

   2021, Ernest Haycox, Karl May, Zane Grey, 50 Westerns But our market required a better quality than coasters and Mexican cattle, and we turned back up the country.

   1 more example

   The ranch's rangy coasters, the only saleable cattle they then held, could not compete with cattle from a growing number of Midwest farmer-feeders or with competitors stocking the northern ranges.

   2020, Michael M. Miller, XIT: A Story of Land, Cattle, and Capital in Texas and Montana, page 119

6. datedslangA prostitute, especially one of European descent, plying her trade in Chinese port towns.

   Don't tell me you've never heard of Shanghai Lily! Everybody in China knows her. She is a notorious coaster.

   1932, Jules Furthman, Shanghai Express

   4 more examples

   I think you can say this much, that from these traces of callus I'd venture she was once a ballet dancer—and later got her living otherwise—as a coaster perhaps.

   1932, [Francis] Van Wyck Mason, The Branded Spy Murders, New York, N.Y.: Grosset & Dunlap, →OCLC, page 65

   Gently again, he raised his hand to tap on the smooth white panels of the coaster’s door, but once more his interview with Ruby Braunfeld was postponed.

   1933, [Francis] Van Wyck Mason, The Shanghai Bund Murders, New York, N.Y.: Grosset & Dunlap, →OCLC, page 51

   Once engaged to be married, Lily and Doc [in the film Shanghai Express (1932)] have been separated for more than five years because of Doc's jealous reaction to a ploy Lily had used to test his love. They meet, by chance, on the Shanghai Express. Lily has become a "coaster", a vamp who travels along the China coast looking for men to victimize, and Doc has thrown himself into his work as a British medical officer.

   1993, Gina Marchetti, “The Threat of Captivity: The Bitter Tea of General Yen and Shanghai Express”, in Romance and the “Yellow Peril”: Race, Sex, and Discursive Strategies in Hollywood Romance, Berkeley; Los Angeles, Calif.; London: University of California Press, →ISBN, page 59

   I have studied your astrological chart and it fills me with more concern than hatred. If you stay in China, I fear you will end up a coaster.

   2000, Charles Busch, Shanghai Moon: A Comic Melodrama, New York, N.Y.; London: Samuel French, →ISBN

plural coasters

1. Agent noun of coast: one who coasts.
   1. AustraliaslangAn itinerant person who shirks work but still seeks food and lodging; a loafer, a sundowner.
   2. USwinter sportsA person who uses a sled or toboggan to slide down a slope covered with ice or snow; a sledder, a tobogganist.

      It was cold but still, and Polly trotted down the smooth, snow-covered mall, humming to herself, and trying not to feel homesick. The coasters were at it with all their might, and she watched them, till her longing to join the fun grew irresistible.

      1869–1870, Louisa M[ay] Alcott, “Polly’s Troubles”, in An Old-Fashioned Girl, Boston, Mass.: Roberts Brothers, published 1870, →OCLC, page 42

   3. One who succeeds while making only a minimal effort.

      In Prashar's opinion, there are two types of manager: "coasters, who coast along in a job, and sprinters, who have a challenge, deal with it and then move on."

      2019, Santiago Iñiguez, In an Ideal Business, page 155

2. Something that coasts or is used to coast.
   1. datedA small stand or tray, sometimes with wheels, used to pass something such as a decanter or wine bottle around a tabletop.
   2. broadlyA small, flat or tray-like object on which a bottle, cup, glass, mug, etc., is placed to protect a table surface from drink spills, heat, or water condensation.

      Synonyms: beermat, beer mat

   3. broadlyslangcomputingA useless compact disc or DVD, such as one that was burned incorrectly or has become corrupted.
   4. USabbreviationellipsisinformalEllipsis of rollercoaster.

      You can lose hours to tilting, tweaking, and twisting individual sections of a coaster, playing with loops and rolls until it provides maximum thrills without subjecting your visitors to an astronaut's worth of G-force.

      2025 February 28, Rick Lane, “Review: Planet Coaster 2”, in PC Gamer (US), number 392, page 68; published online 1 November 2024

   5. USwinter sportsA sled or toboggan.
   6. PhilippinesA minibus; small bus (especially Toyota Coaster or in general resembling such regardless of brand name)

      coaster bus

      3 more examples

      "O, siya. Basta bilisan mo na riyan." PAKIRAMDAM ni Jhunnica ay inaalat siya nang araw na iyon. Naiwan siya ng service coaster bus na naghahatid at sumusundo sa kanilang mga empleyado ng Stallion Riding Club. Isang exclusive club iyon ng mayayamang mahilig sa kabayo mula sa iba't ibang panig ng bansa. […]

      "Oh, him/her. Just hurry up." Jhunnica FELT like she was being unlucky that day. She was left behind by the service coaster bus that delivers and picks up their employees of the Stallion Riding Club. It's an exclusive club for wealthy horse lovers from all over the country. […]

      2022 May 18, Sonia Francesca, Stallion Series 2: Eneru Villlasis, Precious Pages Corporation, →ISBN

      coaster (kóws‧ter) png [Ing] 1: maliit na bus 2: maliit na pansapin tulad ng kortso, papel, o mababaw na tray.[…]

      coaster (kóws‧ter) n. [Eng] 1: small bus 2: small underlayer such as cork, paper, or a shallow tray. […]

      2010, Virgilio S. Almario, UP diksiyonaryong Filipino, UP Sentro ng Wikang Filipino, →ISBN, page 235

      5. Tourist Land Transport Vehicle shall refer to bus, coaster, van and catering to tourists with tourist transport service franchise issued by the LTFRB;[…]

      2002 January 21, Atty. Wilfredo B. Amiscara, Official Gazette, volume 98, number 3, Quezon City, Philippines: National Printing Office, page 373