English

Alternative forms

• pit-boss

Noun

pit boss ‎(plural pit bosses)

1. (mining, dated) A direct overseer of laborers in a mining operation.
   • 1890, "Consolidated Coal Co. v. Wombacher" (Supreme Court of Illinois) in The Northeastern Reporter, vol. 24, p. 628 (Google preview):

     It is, among other things, sufficiently stated in the declaration that appellant is owner and operator of a coal mine, and has in its employ a pit boss, to whom it has given authority to direct and control the labors of those employed in its mine.

   • 1917, Upton Sinclair, King Coal, book 4, ch. 6:

     How long could a man expect to stand on the steps of a company building, with a super and a pit-boss at his back, and organise a union of mine-workers?

2. (gambling) A supervisor who oversees the dealers and activity at the gaming tables in a casino, and who typically has the authority to expel unruly gamblers from the premises.
   • 2007 July 22, Selena Roberts, "Stewards of Sport Need a Lesson From the Pit Bosses," New York Times (retrieved 10 June 2015):

     Las Vegas: The pit boss sees all on the casino floor as a trained trouble spotter amid this high-roller’s paradise.

   • 2014 Jan. 16, Victoria Bekiempis, "Atlantic City's Last 'Low-Roller' Casino Busts," Newsweek (retrieved 10 June 2015):

     One woman at a baccarat table . . . shouted and mumbled something about wanting her money back, or at least the opportunity to win it back. A pit boss standing behind the dealer joked: “I don’t have any money! I’m unemployed!” and a few moments later, a security guard escorted the woman off the floor.

3. (motor racing) In motor racing, the supervisor of the maintenance pit crew of a driver.
   • 2009, Gerry Souter, The Earnhardts: A Biography, ISBN 9780313358401, p. 29 (Google preview)

     In that same race, the first use of two-way radio-to-pits communication was logged. Al Stevens, who operated a radio dispatch service in Maryland, kept in contact with his pit boss, Cotton Bennett, throughout the race.