Meanings
plural bindle stiffs
- A hobo, misfit, criminal, wanderer, or drifting harvest worker.
He felt like a toss-up between a bindle stiff and a skid row derelict.
1983, Clive Cussler, “Pacific Vortex!”, in Dirk Pitt Series, volume 1, Random House LLC, →ISBN, page 801 more example
“So maybe you better jus’ scatter along now, ’cause Curley maybe ain’t gonna like his wife out in the barn with us ‘bindle stiffs.’ ”
1937, John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men, Covici FriedeSynonyms: bindle punk
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA hobo, misfit, criminal, wanderer, or drifting harvest worker.
Origin
From bindle, a hobo’s sack.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
bindle stiff. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bindle%20stiff
“bindle stiff.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bindle%20stiff. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “bindle stiff,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bindle%20stiff.
Source: bindle stiff on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.