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Definition 2024


bindle_stiff

bindle stiff

See also: bindlestiff

English

Noun

bindle stiff (plural bindle stiffs)

  1. A hobo, misfit, criminal, wanderer, or drifting harvest worker.
    • 1937, John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men, Covici Friede (publisher):
      So maybe you better jus’ scatter along now, ’cause Curley maybe ain’t gonna like his wife out in the barn with us ‘bindle stiffs.’ ”
    • 1983, Clive Cussler, Pacific Vortex!, Random House LLC, Dirk Pitt Series, volume 1, ISBN 0553276328, page 80:
      He felt like a toss-up between a bindle stiff and a skid row derelict.

Synonyms