In British English usage a Tramp is a long term homeless person who travels from place to place as an itinerant vagrant, traditionally walking or hiking all year round. They often left chalk signs on houses or at various points along their traditional routes. They also developed a slang language of their own. Look up tramp in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... British English (BrE, BE, en-GB) is the broad term used to distinguish the forms of the English language used in the United Kingdom from forms used elsewhere in the Anglophone world. ... A homeless man pushes a cart down the street. ... Look up itinerant in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Vagrancy is a crime in some European countries, but most of these laws have been abandoned. ... Two hikers in the Mount Hood National Forest Eagle Creek hiking Hiking is a form of walking, undertaken with the specific purpose of exploring and enjoying the scenery. ... For other uses, see Slang (disambiguation). ...

While some tramps may do odd jobs from time to time, unlike other temporarily homeless people they do not seek out regular work and support themselves by other means such as begging or scavenging. This is in contrast to: Beggars in Samarkand, 1905 Begging is the practice whereby a person obtains money, food, shelter or other things from people they encounter by request. ... Scavenging consists of pushing the exhausted gas-charge out of the cylinder, and drawing in a fresh draught of air ready for the next cycle. ...

• hobos who travel from place to place (often by catching rides on freight trains) looking for work.
• schnorrers, who travel from city to city begging. “Schnorrer” is a Yiddish term.
• bum, a stationary homeless person who does not work, and who begs or steals for a living in one place

Both terms, "tramp" and "hobo" (and the distinction between them), were in common use between the 1880s and the 1940s, and were not limited to the Great Depression. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Schnorrer (also spelled shnorrer) is a Yiddish term meaning beggar or sponger. ... Schnorrer (also spelled shnorrer) is a Yiddish term meaning beggar or sponger. ... Yiddish (ייִדיש, Jiddisch) is a Germanic language spoken by about four million Jews throughout the world. ... Look up bum in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... For other uses, see The Great Depression (disambiguation). ...

Like "hobo" and "bum", the word "tramp" is considered somewhat vulgar in American English usage, having been subsumed in more polite contexts by words such as "homeless person" or "vagrant". In colloquial American English, the word "tramp" can also mean a sexually promiscuous female or even prostitute. For other uses, see American English (disambiguation). ... A homeless man pushes a cart down the street. ... Vagrancy is a crime in some European countries, but most of these laws have been abandoned. ... A colloquialism is an informal expression, that is, an expression not used in formal speech or writing. ... Promiscuity is the practice of making relatively unselective, casual and indiscriminate choices. ... Prostitution is the sale of sexual services (typically manual stimulation, oral sex, sexual intercourse, or anal sex) for cash or other kind of return, generally indiscriminately with many persons. ...

It remains relatively more common in current British English, but has also been somewhat replaced with "homeless person". Tramps used to be known in England and Wales as 'gentlemen of the road' ^[1]. British English (BrE, BE, en-GB) is the broad term used to distinguish the forms of the English language used in the United Kingdom from forms used elsewhere in the Anglophone world. ...

See also

• Vacilando, a kind of tramp for whom the travel as such is more important than the destination.
• The Tramp as portrayed by Charlie Chaplin.
• WH Davies poet, tramp and author of The Autobiography of a Super-Tramp in 1910.

A vacilando is a wanderer for whom the experience of travel is more important than travelling for the purpose of reaching a destination. ... For the song, see The Tramp (song). ... Charles Chaplin redirects here. ... An interesting insight into the life of an intelligent man who decided to live a simple life. ...

External links

Look up tramp in
Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• A Dictionary definition from the Free Dictionary
• BBC Wales feature on tramps as 'gentlemen of the road' from 1964
• Tramp's signs, symbols and slang