Question

bindle stiff noun In the argot of tramps and hoboes, a roll of clothes and bedding was called a bindle, a word that probably originated as an alteration of the more familiar bundle. Stiff itself can mean "hobo" or "migrant worker," meanings it took on in the late 19th century. About the same time, any tramp or hobo who habitually carried such a pack was known as a bindle stiff. In Australia, a pack-carrying hobo might be called a swagman. : hobo; especially : one who carries his clothes or bedding in a bundle

Accepted Answer

January 5, 2018 BIN-dul-stiff "A bindle stiff smoked in the partly open doorway of a Rock Island boxcar, nothing supernatural about him." — John Farris, Phantom Nights, 2005"Like Alamosa, Durango and Chama, the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad created Salida, a sooty town complete with coal dust, tired railroad workers and the occasional bindle stiff or hobo who walked down the tracks looking for handouts." — Andrew Gulliford, The Durango (Colorado) Herald, 12 Apr. 2015

Word	bindle stiff
Date	January 5, 2018
Type	noun
Syllables	BIN-dul-stiff
Etymology	In the argot of tramps and hoboes, a roll of clothes and bedding was called a bindle, a word that probably originated as an alteration of the more familiar bundle. Stiff itself can mean "hobo" or "migrant worker," meanings it took on in the late 19th century. About the same time, any tramp or hobo who habitually carried such a pack was known as a bindle stiff. In Australia, a pack-carrying hobo might be called a swagman.
Examples	"A bindle stiff smoked in the partly open doorway of a Rock Island boxcar, nothing supernatural about him." — John Farris, Phantom Nights, 2005 "Like Alamosa, Durango and Chama, the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad created Salida, a sooty town complete with coal dust, tired railroad workers and the occasional bindle stiff or hobo who walked down the tracks looking for handouts." — Andrew Gulliford, The Durango (Colorado) Herald, 12 Apr. 2015
Definition	: hobo; especially : one who carries his clothes or bedding in a bundle

Bindle Stiff Hobo Clothes Bedding Called Durango Railroad