roustabout

Dictionary: roust·a·bout (rous'tə-bout') pronunciation

A laborer employed for temporary or unskilled jobs, as in an oil field.
A circus laborer.
A deck or wharf laborer, especially on the Mississippi River.

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(ROUST-uh-bout) pronunciation

noun
A casual or unskilled laborer, especially on an oil rig.

Etymology
From roust, perhaps an alteration of rouse (to shake feathers, as of a hawk)

Usage
"But Smith has made it, for 18 years, starting as a roustabout in Long Beach and working his way up to lead operator overseeing the daily workings of Platform B off Santa Barbara's coast." — Zeke Barlow; Platform Workers At Peace With Long Hours, Workweek; Ventura County Star (California); Feb 1, 2009.

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noun

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Wikipedia: Roustabout

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For other uses, see Roustabout (disambiguation).

Look up roustabout in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

A roustabout is a labourer typically performing temporary, unskilled work. The term has traditionally been used to refer to traveling-circus workers or oil rig workers.

In the American south, mid to late 19th century, roustabout was used to refer to unskilled labor working on steamboats. In reference to the Mississippi River fire and subsequent sinking of the Steamer Josie Harry:

NY Times, Dec 15, 1883, "A Steam-Boat Burned": "...The fireman and greaser and two roustabouts jumped into the river..."

A variation in spelling, rouseabout (often abbreviated to 'rousie'), is commonly used in Australia and New Zealand to refer to workers who pick-up wool after it has been taken from the sheep's back during shearing operations.

"Roustabout" is also an official classification of oil rig personnel. Roustabouts working in the North American oil fields typically perform various jobs requiring little training. However, they frequently turn out to be long-term employees and take on more difficult and sometimes dangerous jobs as they gain experience. Most go on to at least become roughnecks if they work for the oil rig company for more than a few months.

Popular Culture

The term was used in Disney's 1941 animated film Dumbo, during a musical scene in which a group of laborers pulled circus materials off the train for construction. Roustabout is also a 1964 musical movie starring Elvis Presley, Barbara Stanwyck, and Joan Freeman in a story set in a traveling carnival. Additionally, the term is used in the song The Mariner's Revenge Song, by The Decemberists.

		Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more
		Wordsmith Words. © 2009 Wordsmith.org. All rights reserved. Read more
		Thesaurus. Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary Copyright © 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more
		Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Roustabout". Read more
		Translations. Copyright © 2007, WizCom Technologies Ltd. All rights reserved. Read more

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roustabout

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