barrow boy
Cart-pushing merchant
A barrow boy is a street vendor who sells goods from a barrow—a wheeled cart or handcart.
The term is chiefly British, evoking traditional market traders hawking fruit, vegetables, or other wares: He started out as a barrow boy in the East End.
The phrase sometimes carries connotations of scrappy, working-class hustle, applied figuratively to aggressive traders in finance or business.
Street fruit and vegetable seller
- East EndLondon district beyond the City
- rhyming slangSubstitution using sound-alike phrases
- Bow BellsSt Mary-le-Bow's bells
- jellied eelsCold fish in gel
pie and mash · whelks · apples and pears · cor blimey · mockney · Portobello
Edible plant ovary
- vegetablesEdible plants, not fruits
- stallEnclosed compartment or delay
- cartVehicle for hauling
- fresh produceUnprocessed plant foods
bargaining · hawking · street trading · pavement · pitch · display · weighing scales · cash in hand
Quick rehearsed speech
- sales pitchPersuasive commercial presentation
- reparteeQuick, clever conversation
- quipBrief, clever remark
- chaffProtective seed coverings
ribbing · joviality · wit · tease · wisecrack · cheeky · gift of the gab · joshing
Crush into particles
- enterpriseCommercial undertaking or initiative
- entrepreneurshipCreating and managing ventures
- initiativeSelf-directed action capacity
- resourcefulnessAbility to solve problems creatively
go-getter · early riser · industriousness · self-made · street smarts · wheeling and dealing · opportunism · tenacity
Manual labor workforce
- tradesmanSkilled manual worker
- laborerPhysical task performer
- manual workLabor using physical effort
- council estateGovernment-subsidized residential development
inner city · working poor · honest living · salt of the earth · grafting · apprentice · unskilled · self-employed
costermonger
Street fruit and vegetable seller
- East EndLondon district beyond the City
- rhyming slangSubstitution using sound-alike phrases
- Bow BellsSt Mary-le-Bow's bells
jellied eels · pie and mash · whelks · apples and pears · cor blimey · mockney · Portobello
fruit
Edible plant ovary
- vegetablesEdible plants, not fruits
- stallEnclosed compartment or delay
- cartVehicle for hauling
fresh produce · bargaining · hawking · street trading · pavement · pitch · display · weighing scales · cash in hand · punters
patter
Quick rehearsed speech
- sales pitchPersuasive commercial presentation
- reparteeQuick, clever conversation
- quipBrief, clever remark
chaff · ribbing · joviality · wit · tease · wisecrack · cheeky · gift of the gab · joshing · raillery
grind
Crush into particles
- enterpriseCommercial undertaking or initiative
- entrepreneurshipCreating and managing ventures
- initiativeSelf-directed action capacity
resourcefulness · go-getter · early riser · industriousness · self-made · street smarts · wheeling and dealing · opportunism · tenacity · drive
blue-collar
Manual labor workforce
- tradesmanSkilled manual worker
- laborerPhysical task performer
- manual workLabor using physical effort
council estate · inner city · working poor · honest living · salt of the earth · grafting · apprentice · unskilled · self-employed
barrow boytycoon
Dominant industrial leader
magnate · captain of industry · financier · city banker · landed gentry