A tout is any person who solicits business or employment in a persistent and annoying manner (generally equivalent to a ''
solicitor
A solicitor is a legal practitioner who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally-defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and ...
'' or ''
barker
Barker may refer to:
Occupations
* Barker (occupation), a person who attempts to attract patrons to entertainment events
* Barker (coachbuilder), a builder of horse-drawn coaches and later of bodywork for prestige cars
* a person who strips tanbar ...
'' in
American English
American English, sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set of variety (linguistics), varieties of the English language native to the United States. English is the Languages of the United States, most widely spoken lan ...
, or a ''
spruiker
A tout is any person who solicits business or employment in a persistent and annoying manner (generally equivalent to a ''solicitor'' or '' barker'' in American English, or a ''spruiker'' in Australian English).
An example would be a person who ...
'' in
Australian English
Australian English (AusE, AusEng, AuE, AuEng, en-AU) is the set of varieties of the English language native to Australia. It is the country's common language and ''de facto'' national language; while Australia has no official language, Engli ...
).
An example would be a person who frequents heavily touristed areas and presents himself as a tour guide (particularly towards those who do not speak the local language) but operates on behalf of local bars, restaurants, or hotels, being paid to direct tourists towards certain establishments.
Types
In London, the term "taxi touts" refers to a kind of
illegal taxicab operation which involves taxi drivers (or their operator) attracting potential passengers by illegal means—for instance, calling out travellers, or fetching them and their luggage, while parked in an area where taxi drivers must wait in their vehicle. They may charge exorbitant fees upon arrival, possibly using threats to ensure payment.
"Ticket tout" is a British term for a
scalper
Ticket resale (also known as ticket scalping or ticket touting) is the act of reselling tickets for admission to events. Tickets are bought from licensed sellers and then sold for a price determined by the individual or company in possession of ...
, someone who engages in
ticket resale for more than the
face value
The face value, sometimes called nominal value, is the value of a coin, bond, stamp or paper money as printed on the coin, stamp or bill itself by the issuing authority.
The face value of coins, stamps, or bill is usually its legal value. Howe ...
of the ticket. In recent years some British ticket touts have moved into
Internet ticket fraud
Internet fraud is a type of cybercrime fraud or deception which makes use of the Internet and could involve hiding of information or providing incorrect information for the purpose of tricking victims out of money, property, and inheritance. Int ...
.
In the sports betting world, a tout is someone who sells picks of winners against the spread and the over/under. Most touts are scam artists and most don't have a long term winning record.
A "shop tout" is someone who is engaged by a shop to loiter outside their office, sometimes outside the building, or outside their competitors' shop. The tout then promotes the services to a passer-by and then escorts the person back to the shop, where they are paid a commission for each person that is brought back. The practice of touts working on the street to attract customers to night clubs and bars is very common in the entertainment tourist areas of
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, particularly those of
Roppongi
is a district of Minato, Tokyo, Japan, famous for the affluent Roppongi Hills development area and popular night club scene. A few foreign embassies are located near Roppongi, and the night life is popular with locals and foreigners alike. It is ...
and
Kabukicho,
Turkey and
Spain.
Informants
In
Ireland, a tout is an
informant, a term which includes
supergrass
Supergrass are an English rock band formed in 1993 in Oxford. For the majority of the band's tenure, the line-up consisted of brothers Gaz (lead vocals, guitar) and Rob Coombes (keyboards), Mick Quinn (bass, backing vocals) and Danny Goffey ( ...
.
See also
*
Handicapping
Handicapping, in sport and games, is the practice of assigning advantage through scoring compensation or other advantage given to different contestants to equalize the chances of winning. The word also applies to the various methods by which th ...
*
Tipster
A tipster is someone who regularly provides information (tips) on the likely outcomes of sporting events on internet sites or special betting places.
History
In the past tips were bartered for and traded but nowadays, thanks largely to the Inter ...
References
{{reflist
Illegal occupations
it:Bagarinaggio