hobo synonymous with panhandler or beggar

[Joel S. Berson]

At 4/1/2012 08:44 AM, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
>See HDAS, though the narrowing specifically to "pahandler" strikes me as
>new.  (You mean such speakers don't call traditional tramps and hobos
>"tramps" and "hobos"?  That would be truly diagnostic.)
>
>The well-known criterion that a hobo is an itinerant who doesn't mond
>working has some validity, but it seems to be partly factitious, the result
>of social-minded reformers like Joshua Flynt and Nels Anderson.  I have no
>idea how many train-hoppers and vagabonds of  ca1900 would have described
>themselves as "hobos."
>
>In my childhood, the generic term was "bum."  A "bum" would come up and beg
>money.  A "panhandler" tended to be younger, better dressed, and with
>a good story - in other words, kind of a specialist.
>
>A "hobo" was a bum who traveled and was possibly less alcoholic.  A beggar
>was a bum, but a bum was not absolutely required to be a beggar. Further
>than that, all distinctions were moot.
>
>BTW, my grandparents' term, which also included street-corner thugs, was
>"loafer."  They used it frequently.  It also, of course, included lazy
>persons.

And "vagabonds", "mumpers", and "rogues".  But they  were disappeared
in the 18th century.

Joel


>JL
>On Sun, Apr 1, 2012 at 3:02 AM, Eric Nielsen <ericbarnak at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> > -----------------------
> > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > Poster:       Eric Nielsen <ericbarnak at GMAIL.COM>
> > Subject:      Re: hobo synonymous with panhandler or beggar
> >
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > Utah Phillips (and the Rose Tatoo) would be bummed to hear that, were he
> > living:
> >
> > http://www.theunion.com/article/20080529/PROSPECTOR/814099722
> >
> > Of course, their "hobo" was pretty idealized.
> >
> > Eric
> >
> >
> >
> > On Sat, Mar 31, 2012 at 9:13 PM, Dan Nussbaum <yekkey at aol.com> wrote:
> >
> > > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> > > -----------------------
> > > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > > Poster:       Dan Nussbaum <yekkey at AOL.COM>
> > > Subject:      hobo synonymous with panhandler or beggar
> > >
> > >
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > >
> > > My wife informs me that her Middle School students consider hobo to be
> > > syno=
> > > nymous with panhandler or beggar.
> > >
> > >
> > > I would like to know what this esteemed list serve thinks.
> > >
> > >
> > > Dan Nussbaum=20
> > >
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