86'ed Banned from the lot. The term is in general use meaning "we have no more [ something]" or "to get rid of [something]." There are many 'folk etymologies' ex plaining the origin of the term, but all are dubious. A&S Man "Age and Scale" operator ("guess your age or weight" operator). More com monly known as "Fool the Guesser," the game can be operated as a hanky-pank (q.v .) or any of several other ways. AB Amusement Business, the trade magazine of the outdoor entertainment industry. ABA A commercial "traveler's check," often purchased under assumed names, useful for carrying and transferring large sums of cash without bank or I.R.S. scrutin y. Add-Up Joint, or Add 'Em Up Game where each play (each dart thrown, ball rolled, balloon broken...) scores points that are totaled for the player. In its most d irect form, it is a fair enough game (though it is illegal in some areas as a 'g ame of chance') but it is very similar to the larcenous "razzle dazzle' game whi ch adds a 'build up' feature (q.v.) and cannot be won. Advance Man Employee who handles details such as licenses and sponsors before a carnival arrives in town, and sometimes handles bribes to local officials for le aving the carnival alone. After-Catch Items sold to show patrons after they have paid their admission and seen the show. After-Show Blowoff (q.v.) Afterpiece A multi-gag comedy act closing a medicine show. Agent The one who works a game, especially a game that requires some skill and f inesse to sell to the marks, and most especially a rigged game. Sometimes the ow ner, sometimes an employee working on percentage. Many carnies feel that the nam e 'agent' implies dishonesty. Skilled agents would be bored (and overpaid) worki ng a no-skill joint like a dime pitch. Al-A-Ga-Zam Greeting from one pitchman to another. Alibi Store A game in which the agent gives you an alibi, an explanation of why you didn't win. Maybe "you threw the ball too fast," or how you violated the rul es (leaned over the foul line, etc.) He often offers you a "better" chance to wi n (for another fee, of course) but you'll never win a thing. There's no need to hide the gaff when the authorities inspect, and big replay profits (until the ma rk catches on, of course, and starts a beef.) Alligator Man Sideshow human oddity afflicted with skin condition, commonly icth yosis, that gives the skin a scaly, reptilian appearance. Amusement Business The trade magazine of the trade, originally "The Billboard". Many traveling showmen would use Billboard as their address the magazine would f orward mail to them along the show's route. Anatomical Wonder A sideshow performer able to do stunts such as 'the man withou t a stomach' (pulling the gut in until the backbone shows), pulling themselves t hrough a coat hanger or tennis racket, and other India Rubber Man stunts. Annex The area of a sideshow joint where the blowoff is located. Arcade A tent housing coin-operated amusement games normally only on larger show s. Arrow A paper sign, consisting simply of a large (usually red) printed arrow, us ed to mark the route between towns. Taped to road signs by the 24-hour man the d ay before the show moves. Can be placed in any orientation: the occasional strai ght-up arrow to tell you you're on the right track, a single tilted arrow to war n of an upcoming turn, and two or three tilted arrows in a group to indicate whe re to turn. At' Show (also called "catch wrestling") 'At' is short for "Athletic", and indic ates a wrestling show where locals are challenged to enter the ring and beat (or last a certain amount of time against) the carnival's champion wrestler. The lo cal boys might be persuaded to secretly cooperate, delivering an arranged win or loss as intended. Matches would usually last less than five minutes, followed b y a return to the bally platform, where the loser (always the towner in the firs t match) would loudly demand a rematch, complaining that he'd been cheated. Many in the audience would pay to go back in to see the local hero try again, watchi ng carefully to catch any cheating. This might be worth repeating several times until the locals tired of it or ran out of money. The traveling wrestlers had an effective repertoire of "concession holds", or "hooks," which would let them en d the match in an assured victory at will. The hooks were so painful that the lo cal boy would shout a loud "uncle" or "I give" or just "aaaaaargh!", eliminating any suspicion that the referee had ruled unfairly. Aunt Sally "Aunt Sally," originally a fairground game, is now a pub game played almost exclusively in a very small area in Britain. It featured a figure of an o ld woman's head with a pipe in its mouth. The goal was to to break off the pipe by throwing a baton about 18" long. The target has since been simplified into a small cylinder (still called "the dolly") atop a stake, to be knocked off by the baton. The game was sufficiently widespread and popular that by 1898 "Aunt Sall y" was a colloquialism in mainstream use meaning someone who was the object of e asy but unfair attack. B.C. "Be cool," a warning to stop whatever you are doing or saying. Perhaps the Chief of Police is watching you while you're about to take all his daughter's mo ney, so STOP whatever you are doing immediately and find out why the person said B.C. "Baby Needs Milk" When you see a fellow carny flirting with a townie, you might wander by and say this just to mess up your buddy's 'score', either as a joke or if you know that this particular townie has oh, say, the police chief for a fat her. Baby Show Also known as 'unborn,' 'life,' 'bottle,' 'freak baby' and 'pickled pu nk show.' Back End The far end of the lot, where the large shows and rides are located. Th is placement of strong attractions draws customers from the gate through the ent ire length of the lot. It doesn't help anyone if patrons linger at the front end and do not circulate, so a particularly strong back-end attraction can take hom e as much as 50% of its gross income, sometimes (when other back-end attractions are weak) even 100%. Concessions, wherever located, are considered part of the front end. Back Yard Sometimes also called "the living lot." Here, away from public access, are private trailers for living and storage. Back Yard Boy A general gofer, sometimes a 'roughie' but more often an inexperie nced helper. Backtracking When an independent attraction or a small carnival does not have it s entire season arranged beforehand, it may find that the only good lot in its n ext location has been already taken by another outfit. The only choice then may be to backtrack and replay a town you have already visited this season, resultin g in sparse business and discouraged agents. Baffle Blocks Six-sided or eight-sided or more logs used as dice. They resemble the dice used in some ancient Chinese gambling games. Bag Man or Fixer The official in the locale where the carnival is set up to whom protection money is paid, either to overlook actual violations or not to find i maginary ones. Bail the Counter As in "bail out of an airplane." Usually, the only way out of a joint is to "bail", or jump over the counter. THE BALLY Bally or Ballyhoo The "Bally" is the "outside talker's" spiel drawing a crowd (k nown as a "tip") to see a sideshow. The bally is a sophisticated commercial, usu ally illustrated with quick appearances by the performers featured in the show. Its longer, original form, "Ballyhoo," has come into general usage meaning "to a ttract the attention of customers/voters by raising a clamor." The word originat ed at the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago, in the "Streets of Cairo" pavili on. The performers from the Middle East spoke only Arabic. Exhibit manager W.O. Taylor would call the Beledi dancers (a term later corrupted, also by Taylor, to "belly dancers") and musicians out during slack periods to attract a crowd. Sin ce these calls were on no set schedule, the tired performers would mutter "D'All ah hun", roughly meaning "Oh, for God's sake!", as they rose to the extra duty. Taylor began simply calling them to (as he heard it) "ballyhoo." We do not know, though we can guess, what else the performers may have had to say in Arabic abo ut the boss. The bally is also known as the "first opening," while the inside ta lker would introduce the crowd to the show with the "second opening." There are several distinct parts to the classic bally: MAKING THE OPENING "Making the opening" is attracting the attention of everyone within earshot. The object is to assemble a crowd they don't have to be eager attendees, they just have to be willing to pause for a moment to find out what you are yelling about. Ward Hall recently told the Sideshow Central website that "drawing a tip is just the start.