Isn't it a nonesensical term?
2007-10-30 08:12:03 · 6 answers · asked by Alan H 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Languages
PS - Surely you are either a professional or an amateur?
2007-10-30 08:25:01 · update #1
You don't see it used too often these days. My experience with the word is in the world of sports. Post-college athletes used to be called 'semi-pro', most often in baseball and football. They were good but not enough to make the professional leagues in baseball (and in football there really wasn't much beyond college but the fledgling NFL). They would play in loosely-organized leagues and be paid, to the extent you could call it pay, since you didn't earn a living from it, by passing the hat amongst the spectators. Because they accepted money, they could no longer be called amateur, but they were not considered professional, either (the definition of the word being your profession is how you make your living). Thus the name semi-professional.
My dad played semi-pro baseball before enlisting in the Army Air Corps in WWII.
2007-10-30 08:21:38 · answer #1 · answered by curtisports2 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Semi-professional does seem somewhat like an oxymoron doesn't it? But no, it makes sense. It's when someone does something and gets payed for it, so they are no longer a hobbyist or amateur. But it's not a full time job either, so they are not a professional. Hence the term semi-professional.
2007-10-30 08:18:41 · answer #2 · answered by benni 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you're referring to semi-professional dress in the office, it just means that the guys don't have to wear a suit and tie and the ladies don't have to wear dresses and pantyhose.
Semi-professional sounds better than Casual!
2007-10-30 08:15:51 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think not. It's new to my ears but i think it has something to do to a person who nearly graduated college but failed to finished some of the requirements and yet still practicing his would be profession.
Makes sense?
Added:
Yeah, i agree with the guy below me or it may be the dress too?
2007-10-30 08:17:56 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is like an athlete playing sports for pay, but not on a full time basis.....................................................Being professional part-time...............Go to google and type in define semi-professional........................and search..............
2007-10-30 08:19:29 · answer #5 · answered by marty 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
part professional or almost
2007-10-30 08:15:01 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋