# British Dopers:  What is (was) a charabanc?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-dopers-what-is-was-a-charabanc/269235>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [October 14, 2004, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-dopers-what-is-was-a-charabanc/269235 "2004-10-14T18:11:11Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 7\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\
**Post date:** [October 14, 2004, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-dopers-what-is-was-a-charabanc/269235/1 "2004-10-14T18:11:11Z")

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I’ve seen the word in older stories, specifically P.G. Wodehouse, and it seems to be some sort of bus. On Visitors’ Day at Blandings Castle, folks came from far and wide in ‘charabancs’ to tour the Castle.

But what kind of bus is it? Do you still use the term today?

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**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\
**Post date:** [October 14, 2004, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-dopers-what-is-was-a-charabanc/269235/2 "2004-10-14T18:14:22Z")

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It was a bus - from the French, _char à bancs_. [http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=charabancs](http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=charabancs)

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**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\
**Post date:** [October 14, 2004, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-dopers-what-is-was-a-charabanc/269235/3 "2004-10-14T18:14:43Z")

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It basically is any bus that carries many passengers. Early usage, IIRC, was applied to an “open-topped” bus. [This](http://www.classic-wheels.co.uk/mystery_charabanc.htm) seems to back me up. 😃

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**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\
**Post date:** [October 14, 2004, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-dopers-what-is-was-a-charabanc/269235/4 "2004-10-14T18:15:25Z")

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Oh, and no, it’s obsolete.

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**Author:** ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\
**Post date:** [October 14, 2004, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-dopers-what-is-was-a-charabanc/269235/5 "2004-10-14T18:18:58Z")

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“Charabanc” was a term in use in New Zealand up to the mid 1920s. Here, not necessarily “open topped”, but “open-sided” or toast-racked.

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**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\
**Post date:** [October 14, 2004, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-dopers-what-is-was-a-charabanc/269235/6 "2004-10-14T18:26:20Z")

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> [@GorillaMan](#):
>
> Oh, and no, it’s obsolete.

So in contemporary usage, should I imagine a fairly comfortable, well appointed bus, such as the kind used to ferry tourists around?

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**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\
**Post date:** [October 14, 2004, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-dopers-what-is-was-a-charabanc/269235/7 "2004-10-14T18:32:26Z")

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Yes, I guess the open-topped bus tours of London are the closest modern equivalent. However, obviously, motor vehicles aren’t the preserve of the wealthy that they were a century ago. A [Google image search](http://images.google.com/images?q=charabanc&hl=en&btnG=Google+Search) gives plenty more photographs.