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ride the rods

Verb CEFR C1

Definitions

To travel illicitly by clinging to the supporting rods under a freight train.

US, slang

Examples

And a dangerous extracurricular activity had helped turn his muscles to iron: he “rode the rodswith other boys, clinging to the underframework of Union Pacific freight cars rumbling through Abilene.”
“I nearly ran right into one jabbing his shotgun underneath the car, checking to see if somebody was under there riding the rods.”

CEFR level

C1
Advanced
This word is part of the CEFR C1 vocabulary — advanced level.
See all C1 English words →

See also

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