Dictionary
of
Carny, Circus, Sideshow
&
Vaudeville Lingo
This
list is just a small part of my e-book "On The Midway,"
guaranteed to give you many hours of delight, available for a very reasonable price
HERE
This list
is copyright © 2008 Wayne N. Keyser,
and may not be used in whole or
part without permission.
People use it anyway, it's all over the web -
when you see it, think of me.
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"What are those guys saying?"
Every trade has a history, a culture and secrets, all most vividly expressed in the special terms used by its workers. Here are the unique words used on the carnival lot, a language that defines a world of wonders. You can dip into this glossary to seek individual terms, but you can also read it as a whole, using it as a detailed guide to the carnival/sideshow/circus/vaudeville worlds (distilled to eliminate the average book's cute anecdotes and to concentrate the essence). I hope it avoids being, in Studs Terkel's words, "like a National Geographic documentary on the Zulu people, all detail and no insight." Some contributors have supplied (but I have chosen not to include) slang terms widely used outside the field. Terms in active use vary significantly between various areas of the U.S.
American Circus Slang British/Euro Circus Slang Vaudeville Slang
Carnival Slang & Sideshow Slang A-C D-I J-P Q-Z
Ciazarn Gypsies Website Home Page
"Carny
Lingo" glossaries appear all over the Web, mostly from the same
source,
and the work should be credited to its originators (as follows).
Many were researched by James Taylor, publisher of
Shocked
and Amazed,
His language is used here with his kind permission.
Taylor's
material appears, usually without credit,
in many other spots on the Web. Additional contributions from Tom McClellan
and from Diana Philips, a third-generation circus performer. Extra special thanks to the real thing:
the invaluable help from the late Slim Price and his (now defunct) Freakshow Discussion Group,
and the current "with it" experts at the Sideshow
World Discussion Group
and at the Sideshow
World website .
Many terms overlap the circus and carnival, but are given only once.
Find an error? Please report it to me. Here's an EMAIL LINK