weekend warrior

weekend +‎ warrior. First attested 1956.

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weekend warrior (plural weekend warriors)

1. A part-time soldier, or reservist
   • 1956, US Senate Subcommittee on Real Estate and Military Construction, Military Public Works Construction, U.S. Government Printing Office, page 290:

     At Anacostia, the training that is done to naval aviators who are in the Reserve Services, weekend warrior(s) as it were, and they come to Anacostia to get their refresher training.

   Such was the pace with which I, and many like me, the so called ‘weekend warriors’ or Territorial Army, were hoisted aboard the Gulf War battle wagon.

2. (idiomatic) A person who indulges in a sport or pastime on an infrequent basis, usually on weekends when work commitments are not present.
   • 2018, Tim Winton, The Shepherd's Hut, Picador UK Paperback edition 2018, p. 95:

     Whoever camped here was no weekend warrior neither because round the tanks I saw old kero tins with veggies growing in them.

   The most common foot-related injury I see for the weekend warrior is heel pain.

• (infrequent participant in sport or pastime): amateur, dabbler

• (antonym(s) of “infrequent participant in sport or pastime”): lifestyler