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View synonyms for straphanger

straphanger

[ strap-hang-er ]

noun

  1. a passenger who stands in a crowded bus or subway train and holds onto a strap or other support suspended from above.
  2. any user of such public transportation.


straphanger

/ ˈstræpˌhæŋə /

noun

  1. informal.
    a passenger in a bus, train, etc, who has to travel standing, esp by holding on to a strap
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


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Derived Forms

  • ˈstrapˌhanging, noun
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Word History and Origins

Origin of straphanger1

First recorded in 1900–05; strap + hanger
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Example Sentences

When they raise a fist in the air, it looks less like the defiant punch of striking workers or a Black Power salute than like the stance of a straphanger, pendant and insecure.

But as authorities plead for straphangers to ride inside the train, daredevils continue to perform their dangerous stunts on the outside, according to MTA data.

“I don’t want to live in a world in which maintaining public order falls to everyday straphangers.”

Is one of the straphangers the bad guy?

It may have looked ridiculous to other drivers, like I was imitating a subway straphanger — aping public transportation in the most private transportation there is — but I didn’t care.

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straphangstrap-hinge