• Calliope:
  A musical instrument with whistles that are played from a keyboard
• Candy Butcher:
  Sells candy, soft drinks, peanuts, or other food
• Carpet Clown:
  A clown who works either among the audience or on arena floor.
• Catcher:
  A member of a trapeze act who catches the flyer after he has released himself from the bar in a flying return act
• Cats:
  Lions, tigers, leopards, panthers.
• Cattle Guard:
  A set of low seats placed in front of the general admission seats to accommodate overflow audiences.
• Center Pole or King Pole:
  The first pole of the tent to be raised. It is about 60 feet high, weighs about a ton and holds the peak of the tent.
• Character Clown:
  A clown who usually dresses in a tramp costume.
• Charivari:
  A noisy whirlwind entrance of clowns; also called shivaree or chivaree.
• Cherry Pie:
  Extra work done by circus workers for extra pay
• Clem:
  A fight.
• Clown Alley:
  The clowns dressing area; it has its own entrance to the big top
• Clown Stop:
  A brief appearance of the clowns while the props are being changed.
• Cloud swing:
  An aerial act in which an individual performs on a loop of rope suspended from the top of the tent.
• Clown Walk-Around:
  A parade of clowns during which time they stop and do their acts.
• Come-In:
  The time period between when the gates are opened and when the show actually begins; usually 1 hour
• Cookhouse:
  The place where circus people eat. Also called the pie car.

• Dog and Pony Show:
  A derisive term for a small circus.
• Dona:
  A woman.
• Donniker:
  Restrooms
• Doors:
  Call meaning to let the public in.
• Dressage:
  The art of showing trained horses; animal paces are guided by subtle movements of rider's body.
• Dressed:
  When tickets are distributed so that all sections are filled with no obviously empty areas.
• Ducat Grabber:
  Door tender or ticket collector.
• Dukey or Duckie-Box Lunch:The first cookhouse was known as "Hotel du Quai." When pronounced quickly it sounded like "dukey" and the name stuck.
• Dukey Run:
  Any circus run longer than an overnight haul.

• En Ferocite:
  The term used by European circuses to describe American wild animal acts, as opposed to their "tableau" presentations.
• Equestrian Director:
  Ringmaster (derived from early circuses featuring primarily equestrian performers).

• Feet Jump-In:
  Equestrian riding-standing with the feet together, bareback rider jumps from the ground or teeterboard on to back of a running horse.
• Fink or Larry:
  A broken novelty such as a torn balloon.
• First-of-May:
  A person in their first season with the show
• Flatties:
  People.
• Flip-Flaps:
  The trick of flipping from a standing position to the hands while bareback rider is on a running horse.
• Floss:
  Cotton candy.
• Flyers:
  Aerialists, especially those in flying return acts.
• Flying Squadron:
  The first section of a circus to reach the lot
• Framing a Show:
  Planning a circus production.
• Funambulist:
  A tightrope walker.
• Funny Ropes:
  Extra ropes added to regular ones, usually at angles, to give extra stability and spread to canvas tent.

• Gaffer:
  Circus manager.
• Galop:
  Fast tempo band melodies used in certain exits and entrances.
• Gilly:
  Anyone not connected with the circus; an outsider. See also Towner.
• Gilly Wagon:
  Extra small wagon or cart used to carry light bits of equipment around the lot.
• Graft:
  A piece of work-sometimes easy, sometimes hard.
• Grafters:
  Gamblers who often trail a show.
• Grotesque:
  Type of clown who wears exaggerated costume and carries outlandish props.
• Guys:
  Heavy ropes or cables that help to support poles or high wire rigging.

• Harlequin:
  A clown of the commedia dell'arte who dressed in a diamond-patterned costume and who wore a black mask.
• Hay Burner:
  Any circus animal that eats hay or grass
• Heralds:
  Circus advertisements, approximately 9 x 20 inches. which can be pasted down or handed out. They are not in color and consist of type and pictures.
• Hey Rube!:
  Traditional battle cry of circus people in fights with townspeople.
• High School Horse:
  A horse who has been taught fancy steps, also called dressage
• Hits:
  Places such as walls of grain elevators, barns, buildings, or fences on which heralds and posters were pasted.
• Home Run:
  The trip from Home Sweet Home back to winter quarters.
• Home Sweet Home:
  The last stand of the season when bill posters usually pasted on back of posters upside down.
• Homy:
  A man. A bona homy is a good man.
• Horse:
  One thousand dollars.
• Horse Feed:
  Poor returns from poor business.
• Horse Opery:
  Any circus (jokingly).
• Howdah or Howdy:
  A seat, often with a canopy, on the back of an elephant or camel.
• Human Oddities:
  Sideshow of abnormal persons.

• Iron-Jaw Trick:
  An aerial stunt using a metal bit and apparatus which fits into the performer's mouth. Thus suspended he performs his tricks.

• Jackpots:
  Tall tales about the circus.
• Jill:
  A girl.
• Joey:
  The name for all clowns; they are called this in respect to Joseph Grimaldi, the King of Clowns
• John Robinson:
  A shortened performance.
• Jonah's Luck:
  Unusually bad weather or mud.
• Jump:
  The distance between performances in different towns.
• Jump Stand:
  An additional booth near the front door used to sell extra tickets during a rush by spectators.

• Kicking Sawdust:
  Following the circus or being a part of it.
• Kid Show:
  A sideshow.
• Kiester:
  Wardrobe trunk.
• Kinker:
  Any experienced circus performer; the name comes from tumblers who worked the kinks out of sore muscles after exercise

• Larry:
  Can mean any thing broken or, like a Larry Kodoy, not worth having.
• Layout Man:
  The lot superintendent who decides the location of the various tents.
• Liberty Horse:
  A horse that performs without control reins or leads
• Lift:
  The natural bounce which lifts Bareback rider from ground to back of a running horse.
• Little People:
  Midgets or dwarfs.
• Lot:
  Land leased by the circus for performances.
• Lot Lice:
  Local townspeople who arrive early to watch unloading of the
• Lumber:
  The name for the seats or bleachers in the big top

• Main Guy:
  Guy rope to hold up center pole in the Big Top.
• March, The:
  The street parade.
• Mechanic:
  The leather safety harness which is worn by flyers in practice sessions and controlled by man below.
• Midway:
  The area outside of the entrance to the main tent, typically lined with concessionaires.
• Mud Show:
  A small tented circus that travels by trucks or wagons instead of trains

• Nanty:
  Nothing.
• Nut:
  The daily cost of operating a show. Legend has it that local authorities would remove a nut from the wagon wheel of the circus office and keep it to ensure that everyone got paid. This gave rise to the phrase "making the nut", meaning that all of the circus's debts were paid, the wheel nut would be returned and the show would move to the next town.

• On the Show:
  Performers and all others connected to the circus. The term "with" the show is not used.
• Opposition Paper:
  Advertising posters which were put up by competing circuses.

• Pad Room:
  Dressing Room. So called because riders hang their pads there.
• Paper:
  Circus posters.
• Parlari:
  Circus people talking.
• Perch Act:
  A balancing act involving use of apparatus upon which one person is performing while being balanced by another
• Picture Gallery:
  A tattooed man.
• Pie Car:
  A dining car on a circus train or the tent or truck where food is served
• Pitchmen:
  The salesmen at concessions on the midway.
• Planges:
  Aerialist's body swing overs in which one hand and wrist are placed in padded rope loop.
• Ponger:
  An acrobat.
• Possom Belly:
  Extra storage box attached underneath a work wagon or railway car.
• Punk:
  Any young circus performer, whether human or animal

• Quarter Poles:
  Poles which help support the weight of the canvas and take up the slack between center and side poles.

• Rat Sheets:
  Advance posters or handbills with negative slant toward the opposition.
• Razorbacks:
  The men who load and unload railroad cars.
• Red Wagon:
  Box office wagon, main office of circus; also money wagon. This was usually painted red though it could be any color.
• Rig:
  To put up aerial rigging.
• Rigging:
  The apparatus used in high wire or aerial acts.
• Ring Banks or Curbs:
  Wooden curbing around the ring.
• Ring Barn:
  Regulation-sized circus ring for practice at winter quarters.
  
• Ring Curb:
  The curved pieces of wood that fit together to form the circus ring
• Ring Horse:
  A horse which performs in the center ring. He is trained to maintain timing despite distractions.
• Ringmaster:
  The circus master of ceremonies; the voice of the circus
• Ring Stock:
  Circus animals which perform in the show, including horses, llamas, camels, and ponies.
• Risley:
  An acrobatic act in which one person juggles with his or her feet.
• Risley Act:
  Three acrobats lying on their backs who toss a fourth acrobat from one to the other.
• Roll-Ups:
  Tame US aerial plunges.
• Roman Riding:
  A rider standing on the backs of two horses.
• Roper:
  A cowboy.
• Rosinback:
  Horse used for bareback riding. So named because horses' backs were sprinkled with rosin to prevent rider from slipping.
• Roustabout:
  A circus laborer who puts up and takes down the tents, keeps the grounds clean and safe, and takes care of the animals and circus equipment
• Rubbermen:
  The men who sell balloons.

• Safety Loop:
  The loop part of a web rope into which a performer places her wrist in aerial ballet numbers.
• Segue:
  Music bridge used in changing from one tune to another without stopping.
• Shanty or Chandelier:
  The man who works the lights.
• Shill:
  A man used a decoy; an employee who stands in line to make the box office look busy and walks in without paying.
• Sidewall 1:
  The canvas tent wall that surrounds the bleachers to keep people from getting a free peek at the show.
• Sidewall 2:
  To sneak past these walls during a performance without paying to get in
• Sky Boards:
  The decorated boards along top of cage wagons used in parades.
• Slanger:
  Trainer of cats - is used by English Performers as verb to work. They could of heard he was slanging the cat act, but it can mean any kind of work. They will ask a question what or where are you going to Slang.
• Sledge Gang:
  Crew of men who pounded in tent stakes.
• Soft Lot
  A wet or muddy lot.
• Spec:
  Short form for spectacle. A colorful pageant which is a featured part of the show; formerly used as the opening numbers, now presented before intermission.
• Spec:
  A parade within the tent of all performers and animals in costume, usually at the beginning of the show.
• Spec Girls:
  Comedy showgirls who appear in grand spectacle.
• Spieler: An announcer.
• Splash Boards:
  Decorated bottom edge of cage wagons used in parades
• Spool Truck:
  Truck which carries the tent canvas.
• Stand:
  Any town where the circus plays.
• Star Backs:
  More expensive reserved seats.
• St. Louis:
  Doubles or seconds of food. So named because St. Louis engagement was played in two sections.
• Straw House:
  A sold-out performance.
• Sunday School Show:
  An honest circus with no pickpockets working the crowd
• Swags:
  Prizes

• Tableau Wagons:
  Ornamental parades wagons. Costumed circus performers rode atop them.
• Tail Up:
  Talkers:
  Ticket takers for sideshow--never called "barkers".
• Tanbark:
  The shredded bark from trees from which tannin has been extracted and used to cover circus arena ground.
• Tear Down:
  Take down equipment and ready the circus for moving.
• The Big One:
  Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus.
• Toot Up:
  To get attention of spectators by playing the calliope.
• Tops:
  Tents; for example, dressing tops are where the performers dress for show.
• Towners/Townspeople:
  Any outsiders. See also Gilly.
• Towny:
  Anyone not traveling with the circus.
• Troupers:
  Circus entertainers.
• Trunk Up:
  Command to an elephant to raise his trunk in a salute.
• Turnaway:
  A sold-out show.
• Twenty-four-hour Man:
  An advance man who works one day ahead of circus.

• Wagon:
  Any thing on wheels on an American Circus Lot is called a wagon. With or without a motor it does not matter.
• Wait Brothers Show:
  Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Show. So called because the posters read, "Wait for the Big Show."
• Walk-Around:
  When the clowns do a procession around the circus ring
• Web:
  Long ropes (actually cotton-filled fire hose) hung from the top of the tent for aerialists to perform on.
• Web Girl:
  Female who performs on web in aerial ballet sequence.
• Web-Sitter:
  Ground man who holds or controls the web for aerialists.
• Windjammer:
  A circus musician.
• With It:
  An expression meaning loyalty to the show.

• Zanies:
  Clowns.

There are many words on the (bigtop) list that are from English Circus Slang and are not used by Americans. Here is an example: The Homy and Plalone were having a Barney over the Chafes and Dollnalies in the Caravan. Most Yanks would not understand unless they knew or had worked with English Performers for a while. What it means is-- The man and woman were having a fight over the kids and money in the trailer. An American circus bum would have said: The man and the woman were having a Beef over the Punks and Scratch or Lines in the Wagon. As you can see almost every word in Circus Slang is used as verbs when we talk