the.com/bellhop
A professional carrier of other people's indecision, tipped by the pound.
means A hotel employee who carries guests' luggage to their rooms and performs small errands, typically for a tip.
from A straightforward compound: 'bell,' from the front-desk bell rung to summon him, plus 'hop,' from the brisk, obedient little jump he'd make at its sound — American hotel slang from the early 1900s, when 'hop' meant to move quickly at someone's command.
- origin
- bellboys once literally hopped when hotel bells rang
- economics
- salary often secondary to tips, sometimes entirely so
- etiquette trap
- tipping too little is remembered longer than the stay
- golden age
- grand hotels used them as walking status symbols