Busker Central presents a glossary of terms used in busking and street performing. They can date back centuries and originate from carnival and circus slang, traveling minstrel and medicine shows, as well as old Vaudeville acts.
Since sayings come and go, there are bound to be more in the realm of busking and street-performing.
Some terms listed below are obsolete but historically significant.
Read, learn, and understand the basic terms used by buskers.
Bally - To draw a crowd (sideshow)
Barnstorm - Perform without regard to busking laws
Blockhead - Pounding a large nail into the nostril
Bottle - One who actively collects money for your performance
Build - The initial crowd-gathering techinque(s)
Cafe Busker - One who plays cafes and terraces, indoor and out
Chalk circle - Circle drawn in chalk around busker to define stage
Chopping heads - Stealing another busker's audience
Circle Show - Larger show gathering an audience around performer
Closer - Grand finale closes the show
Cold - Audience is in a bad mood or not responding
Compact - Pulling the crowd in so more can join in the back
Confederate - Participant who is secretly part of your show
Crash - Perform without regard to festival rules
Crate slug - Derogatory term for performer on milk crate (statue)
Cyber Busker - Busker performs virtual show online collecting tips
Died - Performed to little or no applause (also bombed, flopped)
Dogs - Derogatory term for disliked busker(s)
Edge - Front of the audience
Fat Hats! - Wishing you hats full of money
Flash - A large impressive act with several performers
Flush - Actively passing the hat after grand finale
Gate Crasher - Perform without being invited (busker festivals, fairs)
Giraffe - Tall unicycle using a chain to the peddles
Hat - Money in appreciation of your performance from your audience
Hat Line - Informing the audience you'll be passing the hat for money
Heckler - Crowd member who taunts the performer
Keister - Suitcases and luggage holding the busker's show
Kill - The best success possible with the audience
Lost focus - Someone or something interrupts your show
Medicine Show - Selling of elixirs and potions for health
One Man Band - Busker with drums, whistles, strings, and horns
Pass the hat - Collecting money in appreciation for your performance
Patter - Spoken scripted routine
Permit - Some pitches require a fee from City Hall
Pitch - Place or stage for performances
Pinched - Taken from, stolen
Projecting - Speaking loudly with your voice (but not yelling)
Punters - Audience or lay people
Routine - Arrangement of parts of your performance
Show - Main body of your performance (build, show, hat)
Shill - A confederate planted in the crowd
Silent - Performance that does not involve speaking (mime)
Staged - Planting the audience with one or more confederates
Star - Derogatory term for conceited busker
Stealing lines - Using lines from other buskers - also possibly stolen
Stipend - Fixed salary usually per day (busker festivals)
Stooge - Confederate planted in the crowd
Strolling - Moving about performing up and down the way
Tip - Crowd
Trickle - Hat is always out passively collecting tips
Turn the Tip - Instruct crowd to donate or buy tickets (sideshow)
Walk-by - Audience walks by performer (musician)
