Step Right Up! glossary

Advance car

Railroad car on the old railroad shows that moved in advance of the show, carrying billing and advance crews.

After show

Concert or short play given in the big top after the regular performance, sometimes a Wild West exhibition, sometimes song-and-dance.

Annie Oakley

Free ticket or pass to the circus.

Antipodist

Juggler who lies on his back and juggles with the feet (see Risley act).

Auguste

Clown who is the butt of all tricks. He wears no traditional costume, and makeup includes exaggerated facial features and a large red nose. One of the three major clown types.

Back door

Performers' entrance to the tent or arena

Back yard [or back lot]

Area of the circus lot or arena unseen by the public; the location of dressing tents, animals, trailer parking, etc.

Baggage stock

Large horses used to pull heavy circus wagons, not used in performance.

Bale ring

Large steel ring circling a main tent pole, to which the canvas is lashed.

Ballyhoo

To advertise or talk up a circus performance. Originally, a free show given to attract a crowd in front of the sideshow; at the 1893 Columbian Exposition, performers were called to the front with the Arabic expression "Dehalla Hoon," then mispronounced as ballyhoo.

Banner

Colorfully painted panel in front of the sideshow advertising attractions. Also, a cloth sign designed to be tacked to a brick wall by the advance billing crew.

Big Bertha [also The Big One, and The Big Show]

Titles designating the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus after they combined in 1919.

Big top

Tent used for the main circus performance.

Billing crew

Advance men charged with putting up circus paper.

Blow a date [or Blow the town]

To not show up for a performance booked in advance.

Blow-down

Damage suffered with a heavy wind blows down the tents.

Blow-off

Finale of a show, when all performers take their bows and the audience leaves.

Blues

General admission seating.

Boss canvasman

Person in charge of putting up and taking down tents.

Boss elephant man

Person in charge of the elephants.

Boss hostler

Person in charge of all baggage horses.

Boss of ring stock

Person in charge of all performing animals.

Break

Point in a flying trapeze act when the flyer drops his legs and begins his trick.

Bugs

Chameleons sold as pets by the "bug men."

Bull

Elephant of either sex, although most circus elephants are female.

Bust out

Entry into the tent or arena of many clowns at once, usually during the pre-show or "come-in."

Calliope

Large musical instrument consisting of steam-driven whistles, frequently used in circus parades. [pronounced kall-ee-yoap]

Candy butcher

Concessionaire selling anything before, during, and after the show, outside the tent or in the seats; so-called because the first person to sell concessions on the Old John Robinson show was so successful that he quit his regular job as a meat butcher.

Carpet clown

Clown working in the stands or outside the rings who fills in between acts; originally an august who supplied the carpet for equestrians in the ring.

Cat

Any tiger, lion, panther, or leopard used in the circus.

Catcher

In a flying act, the partner who hangs from the "catch trap" and catches the "flyer."

Charivari

Boisterous exhibition of acrobatic clowning involving chaotic tumbling; related to old French "Shivaree."

Cherry pie

Doing extra work for extra pay.

Chinese

Doing very heavy extra work, sometimes for no extra pay.

Clown alley

Area reserved for clowns to store props and put on costumes and makeup, usually found just outside the back door.

Come-in

Hour between the opening of doors and the start of the show.

Cookhouse

Tent or complex for supplying meals to circus personnel.

Corporation shows

Circuses operated by the American Circus Corporation of Peru, Indiana.

Daub

Circus paper glued on fences, storefronts, barns, or walls where ads are not normally found.

Dead man

Extra strong rigging for the aerial or high wire acts, secured by several stakes driven into the ground and an additional stake lying parallel to the ground.

Donniker [or Doniker]

Portable toilet.

Doors

Announcement signaling the opening of the front doors to the public.

Dressage act

Act with trained horse and rider.

Ducat [or Ducket]

Ticket to the circus.

Ducat grabber

Person who takes tickets.

Equestrian director

Person in charge of full circus performance.

First of May

Novice going out with a circus for the first time; so-called because seasons traditionally began on May 1.

Finale

Spectacle parade at the end of the circus performance.

Flag [or Flag's up]

Flag raised over the cookhouse signaling when a meal is being served.

Flying frame

Frame from which traps and other rigging are hung.

Flying squadron

First section of the old circus trains to arrive in town, bringing everything necessary to lay out the lot and set up the cook tent.

Front door

Main entrance to the big top.

Front end

Everything seen by the public before entering the big top.

Funambulist

Wire-walker or rope-walker.

General manager

Person in charge of all working personnel.

Grease joint

Hot dog and burger stands on the midway or front end.

Grotesque

Whiteface clown with exaggerated facial features and strange style of acting.

Guy out

To tighten guy ropes holding the tent perimeter in place.

Hammer gang

Men who drive stakes.

Hay burner

Any animal that eats hay or grass.

Hey Rube

Traditional call to arms indicating a fight between circus people and towners.

High school horse

Horse taught to do traditional formal steps, such as those taught by the Spanish Riding School.

Hippodrome track

Track traditionally separating the seating from the three circus rings.

Home run

Last move of the season, returning to winter quarters.

Iron jaw

Aerial act that allows the performer to hang from an apparatus fitting into his mouth.

Jack

"A"-shaped frame that supports stringers for seating planks.

Jackpots

Often wildly exaggerated stories told by former troupers about the circus. To "cut up jackies" is to tell such stories.

Joey

Circus term for a clown, derived from Joseph Grimaldi, famous 19th century English clown.

John Robinson

Quick show, shortened to bare essentials because of storm warnings or to get an early start on the jump to the next town.

Joint

Concession stand on the front end of the show.

Jump

Distance or move between towns.

Kid show

Sideshow connected to the circus.

Kinker

Any performer who must work the kinks out of sore muscles.

Liberty horse

Horse performing "at liberty" without reins or rider, executing drills on the subtle command of the trainer in the center of the ring.

Lot lice

Towners who hang around circus lots but spend little or nothing.

Long-mount

Usually the finale of an elephant act, when elephants stand on hind legs, resting front legs on the back of the elephant in front of them. In a "walking long-mount," the line of bulls moving forward or backward in this position.

Manege

To ride a high school horse, showing off its steps.

Mechanic [or Longe rope]

Belt worn by the performer, attached to a safety line controlled by another person who can take up slack and prevent disastrous falls.

Mud block

Half-rounded piece of wood or steel placed on the bottom of center poles to facilitate raising them into place without their sinking into soft ground.

Mud show

Circus traveling overland on horse-drawn wagons.

Musth [or Must]

Periodic condition of male elephants, in which their behavior is dangerously unpredictable and a sticky substance exudes from glands located between the eyes and mouth.

Nut

Daily expense; "making" or "cracking the nut" refers to successfully meeting circus expenses.

One-day stand

Circus staying in town for only one day.

Opposition

Competition between circuses.

Paper

Circus advertising, posters.

Perch act

Balancing act in which a performer balances and does tricks on the top of a "perch pole," which is balanced on his partner's head, shoulder, or belted waist pouch.

Performance director

Person in charge of circus artistic performers, who may or may not appear in performance.

Pie car

Dining car on the circus train, or truck or tent supplying food.

Plange [or Planche]

Move by an aerialist hanging by one arm from a swivelled loop on a web rope, in which the entire body is thrown over the arm, a trick made famous by Lillian Lietzel.

Poles

The tallest tent poles are called "center poles"; shortest are "side poles"; all those in between, which are used to elevate canvas tops and permit wider tents, and which may vary in length, are called "quarter poles."

Poler

Person guiding heavy circus wagons down ramps from railroad flat cars — one of the more dangerous of circus jobs.

Production number

Lavishly decked act with many floats, props, and performers.

Pulling peaks

Pulling the big top of a bale-ring tent halfway up the center poles.

Punk

Any circus youngster, whether animal or human.

Quad

Quadruple backward somersault by a flyer to the hands of a catcher.

Razorback

Train laborer who loaded circus flat cars; the name is derived from "Raise 'er back — let 'er go!" the command for lifting cross-cage wagons into place.

Reds

Reserved seats in preferred locations available at surcharge.

Red light

Practice of throwing a troublemaker or other undesirable person off the circus train during the night [or to throw someone off the circus lot].

Red Wagon

Main ticket wagon and office, no matter what color it is painted.

Ring curb

Curved curbing, usually wooden and about one foot high, which when combined with other similar pieces forms a standard circus ring of about 42 feet in diameter.

Ringmaster

Originally, the man with the whip in charge of a one-ring equestrian performance; now commonly used to describe the role of circus master of ceremonies and equestrian director.

Ring stock

Circus animals performing in the ring, i.e., horses, camels, llamas, etc.

Risley act

Performance in which a juggler lies on his back and juggles or balances another performer with his feet.

Rosinback [or Resinback]

Horse used by track bareback riders; the name derives from the resin powder used rubbed into the horse's back to provide a sticky footing.

Roustabout

Circus laborer.

Route card

Card listing schedule of dates, towns, miles traveled, for circus stands.

Run

Ramp placed at the end of circus train flatcar, used to load and unload wagons.

Sheet

Standard circus advertising paper measuring 28 inches by 42 inches. A "one-sheet" is a standard poster of that size.

Shooting quarter poles

Inserting quarter poles into grommet holes in big top after the peaks have been pulled, and sliding them into position.

Short side

Side of the cookhouse seating the performers and staff.

Sidewall

Canvas wall enclosing perimeter of tent to prevent anyone from sneaking in or seeing a show without paying.

Spanish web

Cloth-covered hanging rope on which aerialists perform in aerial ballets.

Spectacle [or Spec]

Parade featuring all performers and animals, usually at the opening of the show; formerly a lavish specially staged production involving hundreds of performers and extravagant sets and props.

Spot

To place wagons, trucks, trailers, or even trunks in designated places in a tent or on the lot.

Stake line

Row of stakes around the tent.

Stand

Town or locale played by the circus.

Straw house

Sold-out performance, when straw was spread in front of seating to accommodate extra patrons.

Stringers

Long pieces of wood supported by "jacks" and used to support seating boards.

Sunday school show

Clean circus with no illegal activity.

Tack spitter

Person who tacked up circus advertising paper or banners, by spitting tacks held in his mouth onto a magnetic hammer.

Talker

Person making "outside openings" and talking in front of an attraction. Also a "grinder," or "opener," and if inside a "lecturer," but never a "barker."

Tanbark

Bark containing tannin, used to tan hides, and afterwards to cover the circus ring floor.

Teeterboard

Seesaw used to propel performers into the air to the back of an animal or the shoulders of other members of the troupe.

Threesheet

Three sheets of advertising paper, thus measuring 42 inches by 84 inches. Also, a self-serving performer who advertises himself more than he deserves.

Top-mounter

Person on top of a totem pole, vaulting act, etc.

Towner

Local person visiting the circus but having nothing to do with circus life.

Tramp

One of the three major American clown types, a character clown with costume and features of a hobo; also an abbreviation for trampoline, as in a "tramp act."

Trap

Trapeze; a single trap is one trapeze and one performer; a double trap is still one trap but with two performers; a trap duo uses two trapezes.

Triple

Triple backward somersault by a flyer to the hands of a catcher.

Trouper

Person who has spent at least one full season traveling with a circus.

Turnaway

Sold-out performance.

Understander

Person on the bottom of a human pyramid or totem pole.

Wait paper

Circus advertising paper using the words "Wait for ..."; used in billing wars by a circus wanting to discourage potential patrons from attending an earlier show.

Whiteface

Clown makeup with a white base, usually highlighted with black and red features [or clown character derived from old Pierrot character and other French clowns], one of the three major clown types.

Windjammer

Member of a circus band.

Winter quarters

Where the circus resides off-season when it is not traveling.