So far as I know he has not yet attempted to write anything exclusively in his jargon which can be termed tramp literature; but he knows a number of songs which are made up largely of tramp words, and his stories at hang-outs are almost invariably told in the lingo, or, at any rate, with so little English interspersed that a stranger would fail to appreciate the most interesting points.
Nevertheless, it is one of the regrets of the hobo that his dialect is losing much of its privacy. Ten years ago it was understood by a much smaller number of people than at present, and ten years hence it will be known to far more than it is now. There are hundreds of "stake-men" and "gay-cats" on the road to-day where there were dozens a decade ago, and they are continually going and coming between civilization and Hoboland. The hobo dislikes them, and, when he can, refuses to associate with them; but they pick up his jargon whether he will or no, and on leaving the road temporarily in order to get a "stake," they tell the world at large of what they have seen and heard. In this way the secrets of Hoboland are becoming common property, and the hobo is being deprived of a picturesque isolation which formerly few disturbed.
At present he likens himself to the Indian. "They can never kill us off the way they have the Injuns," a hobo once said to me, "but they're doin' us dirt in ev'ry other way they can. They're stealin' our lingo, breakin' up our camps, timberin' us, 'n' generally hemmin' us in, 'n' that's what they're doin' to the Injuns. But they can never croak us all, anyhow. We're too strong for that, thank God!"
No, Hoboland can never be completely depopulated. It will change with the years, as all things change, but it is impossible to wipe it off the map. As long as there are lazy people, discouraged criminals, drunkards, and boys possessed of Wanderlust, Hoboland will have its place in our social geography, and a jargon more or less exclusively its own.
[GLOSSARY]
The following collection of tramp words and phrases is not intended to be at all exhaustive. I have merely explained the slang used in the text, and added certain other words which I thought might interest the reader.
Baldy: an old man.
Ball: a dollar.
Batter: to beg.
Beefer: one who "squeals" on, or gives away, a tramp or criminal.
Blanket-Stiff: a Western tramp; he generally carries a blanket with him on his travels.
Blind-Baggage: the front end of a baggage-car having no door.
Bloke: a fellow; synonymous with "plug," "mug," and "stiff."
Blowed-in-the-Glass Stiff: a trustworthy "pal"; a professional.
'Bo: a hobo.
Brakey: a brakeman.
Bughouse: crazy.
Bull: a policeman.
Bundle: plunder from a robbery.
Chew: to eat or "feed."
Chew the Rag: to talk.
Chi (pronounced "Shi"): Chicago.
Cincie: Cincinnati.
Con: a conductor.
Cooler: a dark cell.
Cop: a policeman. To be "copped" is to get arrested. A "fly-cop" is a detective.
Crib: a saloon or gambling-place; more or less synonymous with "joint" and "hang-out."
Croak: to die, or to kill.
Crocus: a doctor.
Crook: a professional criminal. "Crooked work" means thieving.
Dead: reformed. A "dead" criminal is either discouraged or reformed.
Dicer: a hat.
Dip: a pickpocket.
Ditch, or Be Ditched: to get into trouble, or to fail at what one has undertaken. To be "ditched" when riding on trains means to be put off, or to get locked into a car.
Dope, The: the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.
Doss: noun, sleep; verb, to sleep.
Doss-House: a lodging-house.
Dump: a lodging-house or restaurant; synonymous with "hang-out."
Elbow: a detective.
Fawny Man: a peddler of bogus jewelry.
Fence: a receiver of stolen goods.
Finger: }
Flatty: } a Policeman; synonymous with "bull."
Flagged: when a man is said by criminals or tramps to be "flagged," it means that he is permitted to go unmolested.
Flicker: noun, a faint; verb, to faint or pretend to faint.
Gag: any begging trick.
Gay-Cat: an amateur tramp who works when his begging courage fails him.
Ghost-Story: any statement or report that is not true. When told to young boys it means a "faked" story of tramp life.
Graft: a line of business; synonymous with "spiel."
Grafter: a pickpocket.
Gun: a fellow; more or less synonymous with "bloke," "stiff," "mug," and "plug."
Guy: a fellow.
Hand-Out: a bundle of food handed out to a beggar at the back door.
Hang-Out: the hobo's home.
Hit the Road: to go tramping.
Hobo: a tramp. Derivation obscure. Farmer's "Americanisms" gives: "Ho-Boy, or Haut-Boy: a New York night-scavenger."
Hoister, or Hyster: a shoplifter.
Hoosier: a "farmer." Everybody who does not know the world as the hobo knows it is to him a "farmer," "hoosier," or outsider.
Horn, The: a triangular extension of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad, running from Red Oak, Iowa, southwest some twenty miles, and then northwest to Pacific Junction on the main line.
Horstile: angry, unfriendly, hostile.
Jigger: a sore, artificially made, to excite sympathy.
Jiggered: "done," beaten. When used as an exclamation, as in "I'll be jiggered," it means "I'll be damned," or words to that effect.
Jocker: a tramp who travels with a boy and "jockers" him—trains him as a beggar and protects him from persecution by others.
Joint: practically, any place where tramps congregate, drink, and feel at home.
Kip-House: a lodging-house.
Kip Town: a good lodging-house town.
Leather: a pocket-book. "To reef a leather" means that the pickpocket pulls out the lining of a pocket containing the "leather"; this is frequently the best way of capturing a pocket-book.
Lighthouse: one who knows every detective by sight, and can "tip him off" to his comrades.
Main Guy: the leader.
Mark: a person or house "good" for food, clothes, or money.
Meal-Ticket: a person "good" for a meal.
Monikey: the tramp's nickname, as "New Orleans Blackie," "Mississippi Red," etc.
Mooch: to beg; also, to "light out," "clear out."
Moocher: a beggar. This word is the generic term for tramps in England.
Mug: noun, a fellow; verb, to photograph.
Mush-Fakir: an umbrella-mender. The umbrellas which he collects are frequently not returned.
Office: to "give the office" is to give a signal to a confederate. It is usually done by raising the hat.
On the Hog: on the tramp; also, "busted," "dead broke."
P. A.: Pennsylvania.
Paper: stocks and bonds.
Pen: a penitentiary
Pennsylvania Salve: apple-butter.
Pennyweighters: jewelry thieves.
Peter: a safe thief. "Knock-out drops" are also "peter."
Phillie: Philadelphia.
Plug: a fellow; synonymous with "bloke" and "stiff."
Poke-Out: a lunch; synonymous with "hand-out."
Pound the Ear: to sleep.
Prushun: a tramp boy. An "ex-prushun" is one who has served his apprenticeship as a "kid" and is "looking for revenge," i. e., for a lad that he can "snare" and "jocker," as he himself was "snared" and "jockered."
Punk and Plaster: bread and butter.
Push: a gang.
Q.: the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad, popularly known as the C. B. & Q.
Queer, The: counterfeit money.
Repeater, or Revolver: an old-timer; a professional criminal and a "blowed-in-the-glass" tramp.
Ringer: a bell.
Rube: a "hoosier," or "farmer."
Saps: a clubbing with weapons made from saplings; synonymous with "timber." (See below.)
Scoff: noun, food, "nourishment"; verb, to "feed," to "gorge."
Scrapper: a victim of either tramps or criminals who "puts up a fight."
Screw: a prison turnkey.
Set-Down: a square meal.
Settled: in prison.
Shack: a brakeman.
Shatin' on me Uppers: to be "shatin'" on one's "uppers" is to be "dead broke."
Shove: a gang.
Shover: a man who passes counterfeit money.
Side-Door Pullman: a box-car.
Sinker: a dollar; synonymous with "ball."
Slope: to run away.
Slopping-Up: a big drunk.
Snare: to entice a boy into tramp life.
Sneaks: flat or house thieves. A bank sneak is a bank thief.
Snipe: cigar-butts—the favorite tobacco among hoboes.
Song and Dance: a begging story or trick.
Spark: a diamond.
Spiel: something to peddle. Hoboes often carry needles, pins, court-plaster, and the like. On meeting one another, they ask: "What's your spiel?" ("What are you hawking?") (See "graft.")
Spiked: upset, chagrined, disappointed, disgusted.
Squealer: one who gives away the gang.
Stake-Man: a fellow who holds a position only long enough to get a "stake"—enough money to keep him in "booze" and tobacco while he is on the road. The tramps call him a "gay-cat."
Stall: the pickpocket's companion.
Stiff: a fellow; synonymous with "bloke" and "plug."
Sucker: a victim of both tramps and criminals.
Throw the Feet: to beg, "hustle," or do anything that involves much action.
Timber: a clubbing at the hands of the toughs of a town unfriendly to tramps. (See "Saps.")
Tomato-Can Vag: the outcast of Hoboland; a tramp of the lowest order, who drains the dregs of a beer-barrel into an empty tomato-can and drinks them; he generally lives on the refuse that he finds in scavenger barrels.
Toot the Ringer: ring the bell.
Turf: the road, or low life in general.
Turf It: to be on the road.
Yap: noun, a farmer or "hoosier"; verb, to say or to tell.
York: New York city.