hobo synonymous with panhandler or beggar

[Jonathan Lighter]

John is right about the connotations of "migrant worker," especially since
_The Grapes of Wrath_.

A hobo, however,  was usually an itinerant or migratory worker rather than
a sponger of some sort. The hobo's most salient characteristic was probably
that he generally traveled by hopping Western freights.

The tramp was a more local character, and the bum or loafer more local
still.

JL

On Sun, Apr 1, 2012 at 3:52 PM, Baker, John <JBAKER at stradley.com> wrote:

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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       "Baker, John" <JBAKER at STRADLEY.COM>
> Subject:      Re: hobo synonymous with panhandler or beggar
>
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>
>         "Migrant worker" and "hobo" have very different associations in my
> mind.  I think of "migrant workers" as people who travel seasonally for
> agricultural work.  They may have families and vehicles.  They are often,
> but not always, immigrants.  I think of "hoboes" as men (or older boys) who
> travel from place to place, perhaps hopping freight trains or hitch-hiking,
> and support themselves by whatever work is available (not necessarily
> agricultural work) or by handouts.  Hoboes do not have vehicles or families
> (at least not families who travel with them), but there is a large element
> of choice in their lifestyle, and they may subsequently settle down and
> become respectable.  This usage is essentially historical; hoboes were on
> their way out when "King of the Road" was written in 1964.
>
>
> John Baker
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf
> Of Jonathan Lighter
> Sent: Sunday, April 01, 2012 1:04 PM
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> Subject: Re: hobo synonymous with panhandler or beggar
>
> As I leraned it, the hobo was the migratory worker, the tramp the migratory
> nonworker.
>
> BTW, "migrant worker" has long been preferred.  Birds are migratory, so
> "migratory" must show disrespect.  (Birds can also be "migrants," but
> perhaps the public is less conscious of that.)
> OED has "migratory laborer" from 1911, "migrant worker" amusingly only from
> 1999.
>
> JL
>
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