English

Alternative forms

• pen pusher, penpusher

Noun

pen-pusher ‎(plural pen-pushers)

1. (informal, often derogatory) A person who performs routine office work, involving mainly paperwork.
   • 1925 June 21, "Letters: Miners Well Paid?," Pittsburgh Press (retrieved 21 Aug 2010):

     A pen-pusher in a Sixth ave. office said a coal miner is paid well. I asked him if he ever dug coal. Oh no!

   • 1988 Aug. 28, Trip Gabriel, Russia's Troubled Superstar," New York Times (retrieved 21 Aug 2010):

     "I had to prove to people who were unimportant, who'd never achieved anything in their lives—the administrator, the pen-pusher—that I could fight."

   • 2007 July 12, Ramanujam Sridhar, "A time to change," Hindu BusinessLine (India) (retrieved 21 Aug 2010):

     Investors may have a lopsided view of the company’s reputation simply because an uncaring pen pusher in the finance department responded lethargically to an investor’s query.

Synonyms

• bureaucrat, pencil pusher

See also

• desk job