Wednesday's Random Slang-o-rama: Hey, Rube!

 Now don't get all huffy on me here. Hey, Rube! is not a slam on anyone. It is actually a call for help.

I'm not kidding.

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And neither is Wikipedia.

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According to that august depository of information, Hey, Rube! is....

... a slang phrase most commonly used in the United States by circus and traveling carnival workers ("carnies"), with origins in the middle 19th century. It is a rallying call, or a cry for help, used by carnies in a fight with outsiders. It is also sometimes used to refer to such a fight: "The clown got a black eye in a Hey, Rube." 

In the early days of circuses in America (c. 1800–1860), it was very common for carnies to get into fights with the locals as they travelled from town to town. Circuses were rowdy, loud, and often lewd affairs, where country people could gather, blow off steam, and voice political views. Mark Twain's classic description of a circus and other shows in his 1884 novel Adventures of Huckleberry Finn provides illustration. It was a rare show that did not include at least some violence, and this often involved the members of the circus. When a carnie was attacked or in trouble, he would yell "Hey, Rube!" and all carnies in earshot would rush to his aid.

According to Wikipedia, the phrase originated in 1848 in New Orleans when a member of a circus troupe was attacked and yelled for his friend Reuben to come give him a hand. Apparently the phrase is still in use in modern theaters when performers want to alert security.

My hard copy of Random House Historical Dictionary of American Slang by J.E. Lighter agrees, noting that Hey Rube! used to summon help, and also is used to indicate a brawl, "especially between circusmen and townsmen." The term has broadened to also mean an uproar or argument, in general.

And to think, it all started at the circus.
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons