A hobo was a traveling worker who moved from place to place during hard economic times, especially in America from the 1870s through the Great Depression of the 1930s. Unlike someone who was simply homeless, a hobo was willing to work for food, shelter, or money. They typically rode illegally on freight trains, hopping into empty boxcars to travel from town to town looking for temporary jobs: picking crops, building railroads, washing dishes, or doing other manual labor.

Hobos developed their own culture and code of ethics. They would leave secret symbols chalked on fences or buildings to warn other hobos about which houses might offer a meal and which towns had hostile sheriffs. An honest hobo took pride in earning their way rather than begging, and many would offer to chop wood or do chores in exchange for a hot meal.

The word hobo is sometimes confused with tramp (someone who traveled but didn't work) or bum (someone who neither traveled nor worked), but hobos distinguished themselves as workers. Today, the hobo lifestyle has largely disappeared, but the word reminds us of a difficult period in American history when many people had to wander far from home just to survive.