Sources of Symbols

Hobo Markings

(Important Note: I have only uploaded the glyphs I have used in practice sentences and sample constructions. Therefore, not every glyph indicated on these "source" pages is available on my website at the moment. Instead, you'll probably see a lot of these little guys, , indicating that the image can't be loaded.)

There's a rich tradition of symbols used by hobos to pass important messages onto their fellow wanderers. Unfortunately, most of these are too specific for our purposes. Do we really need a glyph for "It's easy to pick the locks here"? There are a few interesting signs with the potential for generic applications -- such as signs for danger, police and dogs -- but most of these are fighting an uphill battle against more common symbols used in, for example, traffic signs.

SIGN	MEANING	LOCALE
	Angry dogs, mean people	Sweden, UK
	Leave this place	USA
	Gentleman	USA
	Here it is	USA
	Don't knock here	UK
	People here are afraid of tramps	UK
	Alcohol	US

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Last updated January 2004