bindlestiff
nounUK /ˈbɪnd(ə)lstɪf/
Etymology From bindle + stiff.
1
US A tramp (hobo) who carries a bedroll or a bundle of possessions.
- The hobo was a migrant worker, generally honest. The tramp would make a living stealing but there would be mutual respect between them. The bindlestiff on the otherhand was the lowest of the low for he would steal from the bindles of his fellow wanderers.1950, James Blish, Cities in Flight:
- And before he knew it he was a bindlestiff himself.1952, John Steinbeck, East of Eden:
2 more examples
- She had been born in Tucson, mother full-blooded Cherokee, father a bindlestiff on his way through.1967, Harlan Ellison, Pretty Maggie Moneyeyes:
- AP Finance was tucked somewhere between South Central and the vestigial river, hometown of Indians and bindlestiffs and miscellaneous drinkers of Midnight Special […]2009, Thomas Pynchon, Inherent Vice, Vintage, published 2010, page 315: