1964, Arnold S. Lott, Brave Ship, Brave Men, 1994, page 77,The headlines ground out big and black at home, but by the time they had gone out on the Fleet broadcast circuits, been picked out of the air by Mr. Woodside′s sparkies in the radio shack, whacked onto a stencil and run through a mimeograph machine by Harry Dolliver, they were not nearly so impressive.
(UK, Australia, New Zealand) An electrician; an electrical engineer.
2001, Jane Kenway, Peter Kelly, Sue Willis, 6: Manufacturing the Global Locality, Customizing the School and Designing Young Workers, Jack Demaine (editor), Sociology of Education Today, Palgrave, UK, page 138,...the manager of one of the largest hotels, also a committee member ‘let it be known that sparkies working for the hotel should be involved in the programme. The next day saw three very keen contractors ring us up to enrol.’
2004, Stephanie Smith, Underground London, Hachette, UK, unnumbered page,Pete said that the sparkies, the electricians, had turned the power off.
2008, Laurine Croasdale, Surf Sisters, Pan Macmillan Australia, page 122,Sam and Jamie set up the barbecue and tables they′d borrowed from the surf club, Tony organised all the tradesmen, the chippies quickly put the first platform in place so Fizz could set up her sound system while the sparkies rigged up sound and lights, and the plumbers were happy to act as security.
2010, Meegan Jones, Sustainable Event Management: A Practical Guide, Earthscan, UK and US, page 86,You need to educate yourself so you can talk turkey with the sparkies. You don′t need an electrician′s qualification, but if you can demonstrate a basic understanding of the principles behind supplying power to your event, you can have a decent conversation about options and solutions.
