The state herald. (Holyoke, Logan County, Colo.) 1887-1921, 1895-02-22
SLANG OF fAs. ,GlRcUs MAN.
Jargon Which 10 UnintsMissbls to All
hut the IrayellnR shoNman.

~ s-~----. =,
sargon Which IL Unintsiiis,bls to All
But the travelling Snowman.
The circus folk not only have a
slang Of their own, but as they are
pastmastcrs In the general slang OF
the day they, talk b jargon. which
y would ( .h 4 Re simply 'ihinteliisiBls u the
tninitistcd, says the Worcester
American. They are in q line OF
business to catch every cant phrase
going, and any now word which is
only q local invention. To 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
IRE subdiyided, into the l.bigt6p," the
,":ahitnal top" the "kid TOPS" the
''candy top" and so on indefinitely.
The side show, where the Circassian
girls. fat women and other ctiriosities
termed "iroaks" are shown, Is termed
the "kid show" and the man with the
persuasive voice who seeks to entice
people into the "kid show" is known
as q "barker."
The men who sell peanuts, red lem-
onade, palm leaf fans, animal and
song books and concert tickets arc
known under the general term OF
"butchers," whilo that class Of circus
followers whose methods ore outside OF
the pale Of the law, such DIS pickpock.
cts, gamblers and short-change men,
arc either "crooks" or "grafters. To
get a persons money without giving
them any equivalent is "to turn
Them" A countryman is either q
"Rube" (Reuben) or "Jasper."
Thus II q countryman went into q
side show and was robbed OF $40
there, circus man would say: "The
Rubo went against the CRATER in the
kid top and got turned for ted cases."
From tins combination OF tho warning
cry OF "Hey" and tho word "Rubs"
comes the circus mans rallying cry Of
Hey. Rube!" which is always sounded
In times when fight with outsiders
is imminent.
Tho cry OF "Hey Rubo!" has been
In use among circus men for half
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 nre compare
lively rare to-day, however, and seri-
GUS trouble seldom occurs. except in
the sparsely settled regions OF the
South and West.
The musicians with q circus are
known as "wind-jammers." the can
vasmen and other laborers are razor
backs" while man who drinks to
excess is either .'lusher" or "booz-
err" 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 q Jump" and
travelling is dumping" A circus that
travels overland is known as "a red
wagon show" in cDntradistinction to a
show that travels by rail.
The showground is always called
tho "lot," and the dining tent, where
most OF the circus men get their
meals. is the "camp." Horses arc
always stock" and tho horse tents
arc the 'stock tops" Then there are
scores OF technical terms describing
the work OF the different performers,
which, while hardly to be classed as
slang in themselves, nevertheless add
to the picturesqucncss OF the circus
folks vocabulary. This. among aero.
bats there is the ''understander" tho
.'middleman" and the "topmountcr. p"
Among tho riders there arc rough
riders. pad riders and bareback riders.
and among tho funmakers there aro
..patter" or talking clowns, singing
clowns and knockabouts. A clown
used to be called "cackler" In tho
English circuscs. Tho thrce-ring tents
with their great size have knocked
the aged patter clown, common In this
single rings In Tony Pastors day. out
of business. Nobody without voice
ike a speaking trumpet can DO heard
Nowadays In tho great tent. Tho
<nockabout business has come up In
consequence and tho dude and Reuben
clown meander, among tho audience.
representing eccentric spectators not
belonging TO the show.