Hobo vs Drifter - What's the difference?

In pejorative terms the difference between hobo and drifter

is that hobo is a tramp, vagabond; hence bum while drifter is a person who moves from place to place or job to job.

As nouns the difference between hobo and drifter

is that hobo is a homeless, usually penniless person, in some way associated with a life along the rails while drifter is a person who moves from place to place or job to job.

As a verb hobo

is to be a hobo, tramp, bum etc.

hobo

English

(wikipedia hobo)

Noun

(en-noun)

A homeless, usually penniless person, in some way associated with a life along the rails.

A migratory laborer

(pejorative) A tramp, vagabond; hence bum

Usage notes

* Often used attributively, as if an adjective. For example, "hobo stew", "he was leading a hobo life."

Synonyms

* See also

Derived terms

* hobohemia * hoboism * hobo spider * hobo stove

Verb

(en verb)

To be a hobo, tramp, bum etc.

Joe idly hoboed''' through half the country till he realized ' hoboing never gets you anywhere in life.

Anagrams

* ----

drifter

English

Noun

(en noun)

(pejorative) A person who moves from place to place or job to job.

(nautical) A type of lightweight sail used in light winds like a spinnaker.

* 1995 , Ken Textor, The New Book of Sail Trim (page 85)

In winds above 10 knots we usually run wing-and-wing with our 100 percent lapper set on a whisker pole opposite the mainsail. As the wind drops, we get out the drifter and set it flying to leeward (Fig. 1).

* 1999 , Lin Pardey, ?Larry Pardey, Cost Conscious Cruiser: Champagne Cruising on a Beer Budget

After trying a variety of light-wind sails, we've found the most versatile and simple one to be a nylon drifter .

* 2000 , Jim Howard, ?Charles J. Doane, Handbook of Offshore Cruising (page 178)

Some people recommend a medium- to lightweight 140- or 150-percent headsail, and others go for a drifter /reacher.

(automotive) A driver who uses driving techniques to modify vehicle traction to cause a vehicle to slide or power slide rather than drive in line with the tires.

* 2006 , Paul Morton, How to Drift: The Art of Oversteer (page 32)

However, sensing the available traction may actually be more important to a drifter .

* 2007 , Calvin Wan, Calvin Wan's Drifting Performance Handbook (page 132)

For professional drifters looking for even more fine-tuning of their suspension setups, some companies offer more advanced two-way adjustable shocks

* 2009 , Michael Bender, The Fast, the Fraudulent and the Fatal (page 50)

While this method is used by a few drifters in rear-wheel drive cars, this technique is really the only way one can drift in a front-wheel drive car.