straphangers
Rush hour grippers
Straphangers are passengers on public transit—buses, subways, commuter trains—who stand during their ride, often holding overhead straps or rails for balance.
The term evokes crowded urban commutes: The subway was packed with straphangers during rush hour.
By extension, a straphanger is any regular user of public transportation.
Underground transit passage
- metroUrban rail transit
- ridersThose who mount animals
- fareTransport payment
- turnstileRotating single-passage barrier
platform · delay · route · express · local · transfers · schedules · off-peak
Filled to capacity
- jostlingPushing and bumping others
- crampedUncomfortably lacking space
- squeezedPressed firmly together
- congestedBlocked by overcrowding
jam-packed · overcrowded · shoulder-to-shoulder · pressing · sardines · rush-hour · standing-room · elbows
Large populated area
- boroughsMunicipal administrative districts
- undergroundBelow ground or countercultural
- tubeHollow cylindrical passage
- pedestriansPeople traveling on foot
downtown · metropolis · working-class · nine-to-five · urbanites · regulars
subway
Underground transit passage
turnstile · platform · delay · route · express · local · transfers · schedules · off-peak · weekday
packed
Filled to capacity
congested · jam-packed · overcrowded · shoulder-to-shoulder · pressing · sardines · rush-hour · standing-room · elbows · shuffling
city
Large populated area
- boroughsMunicipal administrative districts
- undergroundBelow ground or countercultural
- tubeHollow cylindrical passage
pedestrians · downtown · metropolis · working-class · nine-to-five · urbanites · regulars
straphangersdrivers
Vehicle operators or motivating forces
motorists · cyclists · operators · conductors · chauffeurs