Lifer

Dictionary Entry:
n. [Slang] 1 a person sent to imprisonment for life 2 a person who spends his or her whole life working in a certain occupation or profession, esp. in the armed forces

The word, lifer, doesn't have the most positive meaning. That's clearly true for the first definition, but even the second, when in use, carries a connotation of a person mindlessly getting by with their job and hoping to reach retirement. Errrrr...I think it's time to reinvent the word.

For my model, I'm going to turn to the Germans. If you come from Berlin, you're a Berliner. From Hamburg, you are a Hamburger. The "er" ending means "resident of" or "from the town of". So, in this sense, a Lifer is a resident of Life, a person who lives in Life, comes from that town we all share.

Think about it when someone is called a lifer.