pencil pusher

pencil pusher

One who has a boring, meaningless office job. Primarily heard in US. I refuse to be a pencil pusher the rest of my life. I have big dreams and goals!
See also: pencil, pusher
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

pencil-pusher

n. a bureaucrat; a clerk; an office worker. (see also paper-pusher.) Look here, you lousy pencil-pusher, I want to talk to your boss!
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions
See also:
  • pencil-pusher
  • a pen pusher
  • pen pusher
  • live a dog's life
  • lead a dog's life
  • in pencil
  • pencil out
  • pencil in
  • pencil me in
  • one-horse town
References in periodicals archive
But the acquisition of Lacerte and Pencil Pushers leaves many feeling vulnerable.
"He doesn't have enough square feet in his laboratory to accommodate 17 pencil pushers," Fishbein told SCIENCE NEWS, "never mind finding the money for their salaries.
(River- woods, IL) has discontinued the "Pencil Pushers" software line.
Currently there are over 30 professional tax programs; the leading products are: Arthur Andersen's A-Plustax, CCH Computax's Prosystem FX, CLR Fast-Tax and Pencil Pushers. The number of Windows-based tax programs is growing very fast.
There are the usual and typical comments from the doubtful and economic pencil pushers that predict many problems, which include raw material shortages, government controls, international trade difficulties and many others.
Pencil Pushers, CLR/Fast Tax and Arthur Andersen have announced that they will have a full-blown Windows versions for the 1995 season, although Arthur Andersen will be limiting its distribution.
The sports media were gobbling down their free pre-game meal and lamenting the inevitable: The Islanders--a sportswriter's dream loaded with a group of articulate, honest, and stand-up players--eventually would be eliminated (it didn't happen until the next round against Montreal) and the great gathering of pencil pushers and microphone draggers would have to return to the baseball beat.
The deal will ring up a tab of more than $5 million and provide a slice of the corporate pie to fry cooks and pencil pushers alike.
ECONOMISTS ARE OFTEN REFERRED to as number grubbers, bean counters and pencil pushers. That's because we're often confused with accountants, but even these dry personalities are positively scintillating compared to the mathematical man of the hour - actually of the decade - the decennial census taker.
Colette, from Firhouse in Dublin, has told how she was forced to provide a doctor's letter to HSE pencil pushers to prove Braiden was a stroke victim.
Dealing with UFO reports, the CIA felt, was more appropriately suited for pencil pushers over at the Air Force," Jacobsen wrote.
When they designed the current Civic, the Japanese pencil pushers left the soft, boring lines of its predecessor behind and went for broke.
WK noted that Damirus is known for its "Pencil Pushers" product line, a mid-range tax preparation and planning software product used by small accounting firms and solo practitioners for preparing and filing individual and corporate tax returns.
The stars came to the press luncheons and mingled with the pencil pushers. Times have changed."
Museum curator Alan Pearce said: "Museum staff will be here to give advice on sketching skills and techniques for everyone from novice pencil pushers to experienced artists."