Would you call this man a busker?

[u/YukiNeko777]

I thought only street musicians are called buskers. Can I use this word for street magicians as well?

[u/genghis-san]

I'm a native us English speaker, and I tend to think of busker as a musician. I would just call him a street performer. I personally feel like the word busker is falling out of use in US English in general

[u/rygdav → u/genghis-san]

As an American, I’ve never even heard the term “busker”

[u/somethingwade → u/rygdav]

Really? Do you live anywhere with foot traffic or public transit or are you way out in suburbia or the country? Or do you have the people where you are and just never heard the term?

[u/rygdav → u/somethingwade]

I don’t know if the term exists here and I’ve just never heard it because I’ve never heard it, lol.

I grew up in the middle of nowhere, but have been living in the city for ten years or so now. Used to frequent a street that often has street performers, but I’ve only ever heard them called that as a general term (vs specific things like “that guy on the corner with the guitar” or “see those guys sitting there playing the drums on buckets? That’s where the record store is”

[u/Liandres → u/somethingwade]

I've always lived in cities and only know the term because of a video game

[u/conuly → u/somethingwade]

I mean, I live in NYC and the only reason I know the word at all is because I went through an Anglophile phase as a teen.

[u/Reasonable-Bus2680 → u/rygdav]

I had never heard it 'til I moved to Scotland.

[u/highvelocitypeasoup → u/rygdav]

I had never heard it until sierra Ferrell got popular and people started talking about how she got her start as a musician train hopping and busking. (Southeast us)

[u/SfystemNo4692 → u/rygdav]

Its common in the UK/ireland. Also its the correct term for a job that americans disrespect

[u/conuly → u/SfystemNo4692]

Also its the correct term for a job that americans disrespect

No. It is one term for the job.

In the USA, it is not the most widespread term. This has nothing to do with whether or not we respect them.

[u/SfystemNo4692 → u/conuly]

Yes it is the correct term

[u/conuly → u/SfystemNo4692]

No. That's not how this works. That's like saying "the correct term is feline, not cat". It's just silly.

[u/SfystemNo4692 → u/conuly]

Yes, we consider them to be homeless people we dont consider ourselves with, and thus we arent considered with a shared general term where we would all talk them. Instead you describe them - "street musician" is a description, not a name for a profession. "sounds a bird make" is not the correct term for "song"

[u/conuly → u/SfystemNo4692]

Yes, we consider them to be homeless people we dont consider ourselves with

I have no idea who you're talking about with that word "we", but it's certainly nobody I know.

[u/rygdav → u/SfystemNo4692]

Bro, musician is 100% a profession. Adding “street” is the description. They are a musician on the street, therefore a street musician.

[u/ilPrezidente]

Busker means any kind of street performer, but I'd just say street performer

[u/sleepyj910 → u/ilPrezidente]

Busker = Street performer that does it for money. A magician, dance troupe, guys in the park that get birds to land on your hand. It all counts.

[u/FaxCelestis → u/sleepyj910]

I had a busker approach me to do a numerology forecast for me once. You can busk anything.

[u/Ok-Management-3319]

In my city, in Canada, we have a yearly festival that includes musicians, jugglers, magicians, acrobats, etc. They call it the Busker Festival, so I'd say the word is used for any street performer here.

[u/RainbowNarwhal13 → u/Ok-Management-3319]

Hello fellow Haligonian! This is what I was coming to say 😂

[u/turquoise_amethyst]

Yes. My neighbor performs magic shows as a street performer. He refers to himself as a busker. 

[u/badvolcano]

Yes. That's also a busker.

[u/NonspecificGravity]

The dictionary says a busker is any kind of street performer:
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/busker

For example, in some countries, men make a show of lying down on broken glass. In American cities, I used to see young men break-dancing for donations.

[u/ta_mataia]

I would, yes. A busker is any street performer in my usage. 

[u/yolo_snail]

No, to me a busker is exclusively someone performing music.

[u/DinosaurusMess]

I would! But I don't think that word is super common in the US. I didn't learn it until I lived in London.

[u/bobertf → u/DinosaurusMess]

I’m in the US, and although we have gotten the word busker (thank you!), I’ve only ever heard it applied to musicians. not saying it’s never used for non-musicians in the US though. just haven’t seen it!

[u/vinraven → u/DinosaurusMess]

Might be a regional thing, it’s somewhat common usage in Boston and NYC.

[u/LostwaveLunar9999]

Yes

[u/prole6]

I only added this word to my vocabulary a few years ago but I assumed it applied to anyone performing with their hat (or guitar case or monkey) out.

[u/vinraven]

Yeah, that’s a busker, but we’re just as likely to call buskers street performers, street artists, or street musicians.

Buskers and busking is something generally regulated by statute in large cities, so even if it isn’t the most common term used, it’s often a defined legal term.

Boston’s noise ordinance includes:

DEFINITION OF 'STREET PERFORMERS' AND 'PUBLIC AREAS'
"Street performers" are also known as "buskers."
They include people engaged in, but not limited to:
playing musical instruments
dancing, acting, and singing
pantomime, juggling, magic, and puppetry, and
drawing, painting, and reciting.
"Public areas" include:
sidewalks, walkways, grounds, and
parks and other public pedestrian ways located in the City of Boston.

[u/Hopeful-Lavishness91]

Yes, he's a busker. I live in a small city (125k people) in the US and we have numerous buskers, musical and non-musical.

[u/Professional-Pungo]

I would call this man a human statue/street performer.

not sure what a Busker is tbh. I've never heard this word in my entire life.

[u/kw3lyk → u/Professional-Pungo]

To busk means to perform on the street in exchange for voluntary donations, so a person who is busking is called a busker.

[u/No_Capital_8203 → u/Professional-Pungo]

There is a good definition online. The origin is from busk or to seek. These entertainers seek attention and financial support.

[u/trinite0]

I would use the word "busker" to describe any street performer, but I'd expect it to usually mean a musician.

[u/Evil_Weevill]

Yeah. Any kind of street performer would be a busker. It's commonly musicians. But any kind of street performance would qualify. The word also implies they're doing it for money, like having a hat/bowl out to collect tips or whatnot.

[u/BubbhaJebus]

I've always thought of a busker as a street musician. I'd call this guy a street performer (a category that includes buskers).

[u/amanset]

It would never even cross my mind to possibly think about considering calling a non musician street performer a busker.

[u/pikkdogs]

I guess? Close enough I say.

[u/Aubergenie812]

Street performer

[u/frozenoj]

I've always thought busker was slang for street performer.

[u/DigLongjumping4592]

Practically, though perhaps not technically, 'busker' almost always means someone who performs MUSICALLY for voluntary donations. You can tell this by searching Google images wit the term - all of them are people with guitars.

[u/mimeographed]

We have busker festivals here, and it’s all kinds of street performers so I would call him a busker if he was doing it for money

[u/kfromthecastleonfire]

There's always a difficulty trying to pin down specific definitions of words because those definitions arise from their use and their use depends on people's subjective understanding. I have an autism diagnosis and spend more time with dictionaries than people; people often accuse me of "trying to sound smart."

I, as a native speaker of AmE, would call him a busker, but I might be using the word in a technically nonstandard way.

[u/sqeeezy]

Busking to me means street musicians, playing for money, with a hat on the ground or being punted around the audience.

[u/chivopi]

No, but I don’t think I’d really use that word.

[u/thomsenite256]

Yes generally although thats not really a word I use.

[u/ExitingBear]

No, but if someone else did, I wouldn't argue with them. I think I tend to use "busker" for musicians.

[u/XA36]

Busker isn't as commonly used as street performer, as others said

[u/adrianlovesyou]

I’ve only ever heard it in the context of specially a musician. I’d call this a street performer (US).

[u/conuly]

If I used the word busker, then probably. But it's not an active word in my vocabulary, nor common where I live. I'd probably say street performer.

[u/TatterhoodsGoat]

We have an annual week-long busker festival here in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, that attracts street performers from around the world. This is exactly the type of performance you would expect to see during it. I've gone and watched trampoline artists, jugglers, sword swallowers, magicians, comedians, musicians, acrobats, fire spinners, living statues, spray paint or caricature artists, and acts I couldn't begin to name.

Musicians are the most common form of busker to find performing on street corners throughout the year, but not at the festival.

[u/Violetmoreviolent]

Definitely a busker in UK English

[u/Alternative_Pie_1597]

No he is a Street performer. Buskers are musicians.

[u/Worldly_Ad_7196]

I think this counts. In Havana they have a govt sanctioned way of making money like this called a "dandy". It would be someone dressed in some elaborate costume strolling about often with a cigar. They also have lots of these statues which made me think of it.

[u/SnooDonuts6494]

Nah. Buskers make music.

He's a street entertainer.

[u/Silocin20]

I don't know what a busker is. Never heard of it. Is it some old word that fell out of use?

[u/Desperate_Owl_594]

A busker is any type of street performer. It's usually used with musicians because most performers are street musicians, I think.

[u/plznobanmesir]

I wouldn’t. A busker is someone performing music

[u/Yosho-]

Native US speaker, never heard the word. I would call anyone in that category a street performer

[u/TectonicMongoose]

Native speaker from California I've definitely heard "busker" though I tend to associate it with musicians though I don't live in an area where there are much of any kind of street performances so IDK if that why I associate it with musicians or if its use is more narrow here than in the UK.

[u/InspectorFun8313]

No. Street performer.

A busker is playing guitar or something and collecting tips.

[u/PlanMagnet38]

I think anyone performing in public spaces for money in a hat/case is busking, so yeah

[u/ChrisB-oz]

In Adelaide there are Buskers Licences, and I think they cover any sort of entertainment.

[u/ChallengingKumquat]

Yes I'd call him a busker or street performer.

[u/jenea]

Busker: chiefly British : a person who entertains in a public place for donations

(source)

Before I looked it up, I would have said it was not used much anymore, but now I’m thinking it’s just British. British folks here can say whether it’s still in common use over there—it’s definitely not as common in the US. As I learned it (and as the definition above indicates), any street performer doing it for money is a busker, not just musicians.

[u/vinraven → u/jenea]

It’s somewhat common usage in the Boston to NYC corridor.

News stories and such will often mention buskers when there’s issues.

Boston’s noise ordinance includes:

DEFINITION OF 'STREET PERFORMERS' AND 'PUBLIC AREAS'
"Street performers" are also known as "buskers."
They include people engaged in, but not limited to:
playing musical instruments
dancing, acting, and singing
pantomime, juggling, magic, and puppetry, and
drawing, painting, and reciting.
"Public areas" include:
sidewalks, walkways, grounds, and
parks and other public pedestrian ways located in the City of Boston.

[u/ExitingBear → u/vinraven]

I also hear it a lot. But I'm in an area that has a lot of buskers.

US. Major city in the PNW

[u/conuly → u/vinraven]

It’s somewhat common usage in the Boston to NYC corridor.

As a New Yorker, I disagree. Your citation of a legal code doesn't really help - that's rather like a sign at a laundromat saying "No sneakers" with the word "sneakers" crossed out and the word "footwear" added in. Clearly they include both words so that somebody can't say "I'm not a street performer, I'm a busker". It tells us nothing about how common the expression is in daily life.

It may really be common in Boston, but I can't remember ever hearing it in NYC. I may have heard it, but I am fairly sure I hear "street performer" much more often.

[u/baxbakualanuxsiwae → u/jenea]

I'm British, and yes it's common. It would be the standard word for someone performing music for money in the street. I wouldn't use it for a street performer who wasn't a musician, though I don't know if this is universal in the UK.

[u/conuly → u/jenea]

Geez, who's downvoting you for quoting the dictionary?

[u/jenea → u/conuly]

I think they were probably “busker”-using Americans who downvoted. It’s more common on the east coast than I realized (which is probably where I learned it, from time spent in New York).

[u/Even-Yogurt1719]

As a NYC native he would be a street performer, buskers are typically musicians