Circus Vocabulary and Terms

The following is a selected bibliography of books and articles related to circus vocabulary and terms.

American Circus Lingo

Burns, Lisa. Through the “Front Door” to the “Backyard”: Linguistic Variation of the American Circus.

Circuses and Sideshows. Circus Lingo and Slang

Huey, Rodney. International Guide to the Circus: A Glossary of Common Circus Ternimology.  Updated edition. Monaco:  Fédération Mondiale du Cirque, 2015.

McKennon, Joe. Circus Lingo. Sarasota, FL: Carnival Publishers of Sarasota, 1980.

Saxon, A. H. Circus Language, A Glossary of Circus Terms, Fairfield, CT: Jumbo Press, 2000. The 36-page pamphlet, concise but comprehensive.

Stevens, Geoff. Circus Dictionary: Over 1000 Circus TermsAardvark Publishing, 2005.