Ladder-climber / corporate ladder
Paul McFedries
mailinglists at LOGOPHILIA.COM
Thu Aug 1 18:28:30 UTC 2002
I'm trying to find out when the phrase "ladder-climber" (an ambitious
employee) entered the language. The OED has the following from 1870:
The *ladder-climbers, who now direct the affairs of Paris.
The OED doesn't have "corporate ladder," but I've always assumeded
"ladder-climber" came from that phrase. Is there some other kind of
ladder that these Parisians would have been climbing? Does "ladder" have
a broader metaphorical sense of, say, something that one "climbs" to
move up in the (business/social/whatever) world?
Thanks.
Paul
wordspy.com
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