Circus Slang (1894); Hoodlum (1872) from Boston Globe

[Jonathan Lighter]

Thanks, Barry. Good post. I have no access to ProQuest etc., so anything you unearth on slang is very much appreciated.

JL

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Some Boston Globe items.


"HOODLUMS."
Boston Daily Globe (1872-1960). Boston, Mass.: Aug 9, 1872. p. 4 (1 page):
The word is of California origin and was born in the columns of the Alta California, which paper first applied it to a set of roughs who apparently had no fear of man, God 0or the laws of the State; men who cared for nothing, respected nothing, and were generally destitute of all those better elements which distinguish men from beasts.


Stock Exchange Slang.
Boston Daily Globe (1872-1960). Boston, Mass.: Nov 11, 1894. p. 31 (1 page)


LANGUAGE OF THE STAGE.; Technical Terms of a Theater All Defined. Illusions of Modern Dramas and Methods by Which They Are Accomplished. Stage Carpenter and Property Man Are Rare Inventive Geniuses.
Boston Daily Globe (1872-1960). Boston, Mass.: Dec 30, 1894. p. 35 (1 page)


SLAIVG OF THE CIRCUS MAN.; Jargon Which is Unintelligible to All but the Traveling Shewman.
Boston Daily Globe (1872-1960). Boston, Mass.: Dec 17, 1894. p. 3 (1 page):
The circus folk not only have a slang of their own, but as they are past masters in the general slang of the day they talk a jargon which would be simply unintelligible to the uninitiated. They are in a line of business to catch every cant phrase going, and any new word which is only a local invention.

To a circus man the manager or the head of any enterprise is always "the main guy," while those in subordinate positions are simply "guys." The tents are "tops" to the circus men, and they are sub divided into the "big top," the "animal top," the "kid top," the "candy top," and so on indefinitely.

The side show, where the Circassian girls, fat women and other curiosities termed "freaks" are shown, is termed the "kid show," andthe man with the persuasive voice who seeks to entice people into the "kid show" is known as a "barker."

The men who sell peanuts, red lemonade, palm leaf fans, animal and song books and concert tickets are known under the general term of "butchers," while that class of circus followers whose methods are outside the pale of the law, such as pickpockets, gamblers and short-change men, are either "crooks" or "grafters." To get a person's money without giving them any equivalent is "to turn them." A countryman is either a "Rube" (Reuben) or a "Jasper."

Thus if a countryman went into a side show and was robbed of $10 there, a circus man would say: "The Rube went against the grafter in the kid top and got turned for 10 cases." From the combinations of the warning cry of "Hey" and the word Rube" comes the circus man's rallying cry of "Hey, Rube!" which is always sounded in times when a fight with outsiders is imminent.

The cry of "Hey Rube!" has been in use among circus men for half a century or more, and in the old days it was often followed by bloodshed and even loss of life. Fights between circus men and outsiders are comparitcely rare today; however, and serious trouble seldom occurs, except in spasrsely settled regions of the south and west.

The musicians with a circus are known as "wind-jammers," the canvasmen and other laborers are "razorbacks," while a man who drinks to excess is either a "lusher" or a "boozer." These last two expressions are not confined to circus men, but have been used largely and more commonly by them than by any other class. The distance from one town to another is always known as a "jump," and traveling is "jumping." A cricus that travels overland is known as "a red wagon show" in contradistinction to a show that travels by rail.

The show ground is always called the "lot," and the dining tent, where most of the circus men get their meals, is the "camp." Horses are always stock," and the horse tents are the "stock pens."

Then there are scores of technical terms desribing the work of the different performers, which, while hardly to be classed as slang in themselves, nevertheless add to the picturesqueness of the circus folks vocabulary.

Thus, among acrobats there is the "understander," the middleman" and the "topmounter." AMong the riders there are rough riders, pad riders and bareback riders, and among the fun-makers there are "patter" or talking clowns, singing clowns and knock-abouts.

A clown used to be called a "cackler" in the English circuses. The three-ring tents with their great size have knocked the aged patterclowns, common in the single rings in Tony Pastor's day, our of business. Nobody without a voice like a peaking trumpet can be heard nowadays in the great tent.

The knockabout business has come up in consequence and the dude and Reuben clown meander among the audience, representing eccentric spectators not belonging to the show.--(Worcester American.)


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