Glossary of Terms

[Butterfly Man]

grumbling & tumbling

No, but I struggle while I juggle
So instead of a bottler I use a cudgel

[Butterfly Man]

from the busker's mouth

A bottler is a British term that describes the person with the job of collecting the money. A bottler may also be called the "hat man" or "pitch man". The term bottler came from a device old world performers used for collecting money. It was made from the top half of a glass bottle. It had a leather flap inserted in the bottle neck and a leather pouch attached. It was designed to allow coins in but not allow them to be removed easily without being noticed by the jingling of the coins against the glass. The first use of such contrivances was recorded by the famous Punch and Judy troupe of puppeteers in early Victorian times.

[2] Bottling itself can be an art form, and the difference between a good and a bad bottler can be crucial to the amount of money earned on a pitch. A bottler usually gets a cut of the money made on the pitch, although it's not commonly a full share. In olden days it was common for buskers to use a monkey as a bottler. That practice has diminished due to animal control laws, but as tribute to the monkey's service there is a device known as monkey stick which buskers use to get attention. A monkey stick is a long stick with bottle caps or small cymbals attached such that they make an attention getting noise when shaken. It is frequently topped by a small monkey doll or figurine.

[jeep caillouet]

been thinking again

Monkeys take change,dogs take dollars!But I never thought of my dog being a bottler.B Man you make me think!