Hitchhiking, like all extreme sports, has it’s own weird jargon, which you must learn in order to appear ‘hip’, and ‘down with the cool kids’.
Here is a simple guide to hobo-lingo.
Useful Hitchhiking Terminology.
Hitching (a.k.a. hitchhiking): a rare psychological disorder, mainly affecting people between 16 and 35 years, but not unknown even in old age. Scientific name: dromomania. Key symptoms include: compulsive physical movement, crossing large distances; extreme poverty; very noticeable body odour; sunburn; swelling and irritation of the feet. The person afflicted with this disorder is known as a hitchhiker (also; tramper, hobo, gypsy, nomad, bum, bludger, weirdo, psycho, nut, etc…)
Thumbing: what hitchhikers do with their thumbs. Except in countries where waving is required.
(Top pic: me, thumbing, at Mont-Blanc, France, on my way to Monte Bianco, Italy.)
Kit: the stuff you take with you. Douglas Adams said in his wisdom that the only thing a hitchhiker really needs is a towel, but some other things are also handy.
Driver: the saintly person who sees a dirty, smelly, desperate vagabond on the side of the road and stops to help them out.
(Below: drivers are my favourite people! These guys picked me up in Morocco, drove me all the way to Spain, across the Strait of Gibraltar, shared their picnic dinner with me, and helped find a beautiful camp site to spend the night in. Humans are awesome :-) Thanks guys, I love you!)
Wall flower: a person who wants to help a hitchhiker but is too shy. They are commonly found in service stations, filling their tanks and casting furtive glances at the hitchhiker’s destination sign / legs. A friendly smile and an encouraging greeting will often convert them into a driver (see above).
Heckler: a witty and courageous person who yells abuse at hitchhikers from moving vehicles. Synonyms: jackass; wanker; numb-nut; prick.
Pitch: the spot on the side of the road, or beside the door of a service station, where a hitchhiker waits and thumbs / shivers / burns / curses / dances / etc. Pitches vary in effectiveness according to geography, light conditions, weather and traffic. A hot pitch is one where there is good visibility and plenty of traffic.
Strag: a person who does not hitchhike.
Strag drop: a place a strag assures you is a hot pitch but which turns out to be a terrible place to hitch, and miles from the nearest main road. Common strag drops include: suburban streets, railway stations, bus stops, their cousin’s restaurant, caravan parks, shopping malls, their uncle’s souvenir store, etc…
Itinerary: this word has no meaning in hitchhiking.
Destination: an elusive concept, the hitchhiker’s destination is the place they strive valiantly for days to reach, but which upon arrival immediately transforms itself into a place they yearn to leave.
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>> What’s hitchhiking all about, anyway? Read the Hitchhiking 101!
