Definition of "greenie"

People ask me if am I a greenie and I go, ‘No, not in the sense that I chain myself to trees, no I′m not. But in the sense that I am concerned about the environment and do my little bit to help, then yes I am.’

2000, Australian Association for Environmental Education, Australian Journal of Environmental Education, volumes 15-17, page 73

“What′s a greenie doing with a gas hog like that?”

2008, Adeline Catherine Anderson, Morning Light‎, page 83

‘And whadda you want?’ the barman spat at me. / Above his head was a large sign that read ‘Fertilize the Bush – Doze in a Greenie’. I was dressed in a flannelette shirt and army trousers – exactly like the Greenie protestors they′d been battling the previous year.

2009, Sean Dooley, Cooking With Baz, Large Print 16pt Edition, page 25

At Alcova, the problem is compounded for the fool or fools when they have greenie license plates and behave like tourists. The growing combative presence in their rear is chalk full of true Wyoming grit.

2007, James Prosek, Joseph Furia, Steven Hayhurst, Joseph Kingsbery, Tight Lines: Ten Years of the Yale Anglers′ Journal, page 140

In every kitchen arises the acrid tang of green- tomato pickle, chutney, chili; on every south-facing kitchen windowsill the most promising greenies line up to be coaxed ripe.

1987, Maxine Kumin, In deep: country essays‎, page 98

Mid-August, normally prime berry-picking time, came and went. Still too many greenies.

1995, Michigan Out-of-doors‎, volume 49, page 239

The only way I could keep up with the veteran pickers was to pick almost every strawberry in my row — ripe, unripe, overripe or damaged... Then he would pay me 2 cents a quart for the good ones and charge me a penny for the "greenies."

2000, Ken Tate, Janice Tate, Good Old Days Remembers Working on the Farm‎, page 115

[…] “When the teacher says ‘Good Morning,’ you say, ‘Fuck You.’ That′s what you say in America.” Sometimes they varied this with “son of a bitch.” Sure enough the greenie parroted these instructions to the merriment of the classroom.

1969, Harry Golden, The Right Time: An Autobiography‎, page 45

In California a senior companion offered to demonstrate to his new greenie how he succeeded in placing Books of Mormon in people′s houses. The two of them knocked on a door. A woman answered, and the senior companion threw a book past her into the house and then ran, leaving the greenie to stammer out an explanation to the irate woman.

1981, William Albert Wilson, On Being Human: The Folklore of Mormon Missionaries, volumes 60-66, page 9

If you, as a trainer, work to instill a vision in your greenie, his whole mission will be drastically changed.

2001, Marcus Sheridan, Heavenly Father's Angels: The Ultimate Missionary Guide‎, page 78

When you become a trainer, be the best trainer a greenie ever had.

2004, Robert T Uda, Mission Accomplished‎, page 90

You will probably know pretty quickly if you are dealing with a “greenie” who is reading from a script or a seasoned professional. If it′s a greenie, give him a polite “no thank you” and hang up. But stick with the pro through the entire call.

2008, Brian D. Krueger, The College Grad Job Hunter‎, page 207

He dropped the emerald studs into Abbey's palm and said, “Those little greenies are worth more than diamonds.”

2014, Carl Hiaasen, Carl Hiaasen Collection: Hoot, Flush, Scat, Chomp‎

In the summer time, live bait is often used almost within throwing distance of the jetties for the kingfish and cobia. Local captains use greenies or threadfin herring primarily and catch them on gold hooks right outside the Stuart inlet.

1992, M. Timothy O'Keefe, Larry Larsen, Fish & Dive Florida and the Keys: A Candid Destination Guide (Outdoor Travel Series; 3), Lakeland, FL: Larsen's Outdoor Publishing, page 63

Depending upon the species, fishers may harvest along the ocean floor for many rockfish and other groundfish, while hake, pollock, and some rockfish species (i.e. greenies and brownies) are targeted with mid-water trawls.

2007, R. Quentin Grafton, Harry W. Nelson, Bruce Turris, “How to Resolve the Class II Common Property Problem? The Case of British Columbia's Multi-Species Groundfish Trawl Fishery”, in Trond Bjørndal, Daniel V. Gordon, Ragnar Arnason, U. Rashid Sumaila, editors, Advances in Fisheries Economics: Festschrift in Honour of Professor Gordon R. Munro, Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, page 61

“Come on Lil, catch a greenie,” I say. In between wipe-outs, Lily is having a great time too, occasionally catching waves all the way into the beach.

2014, Dianne Ellis, A Surfer's Healing Journey: The Beauty Beneath Life and Death, page 110