staff, adverb

Origin:
See staffrider.
slang
In urban (especially township) English, in the verbal phrase to ride staff, or (occasionally) to play staff: to ride without paying on a train (or bus), often clinging to the sides, or riding on the roof; staffride. See also staffrider, washing.
1978 Staffrider Vol.1 No.1, (Editorial) 1A staffrider is, let’s face it, a skelm of sorts...He is part of the present phase of our common history, riding ‘staff’ on the fast and dangerous trains.
1979 in Staffrider Vol.2 No.1, 45At sunrise he rode staff on buses. In summer he braved rains and thunderstorms.
1980 Voice 20 Aug. 2Neither shall a staff rider ride staff on the top of the white section of the train.
1980 M. Kirkwood in Eng. in Afr. Vol.7 No.2, 23A staffrider is somebody who rides ‘staff’ on the fast and dangerous trains that come in from the townships to the city, hanging on to the sides of the coaches, climbing on the roof, harassing the passengers. A mobile disreputable bearer of tidings.
1982 Pace Apr. 72There are those who will go one up, ‘ride staff’ then go on to climb on top of the moving train and do dangerous balancing acts on top of the coach as the train hurtles at speeds of up to 90km per hour.
1985 J. Makunga in Staffrider Vol.6 No.2, 35He knew that Vuyo didn’t have one (sc. a ticket) and rode the trains from Randfontein to Springs ‘staff’ with disgusting effrontery.
1988 M. Kirkwood in Ten Yrs of Staffrider 1The A[utomobile] A[ssociation] has its offices there now, and probably even lists among its members some of those who ten years ago were ‘riding staff’.
1989 Weekly Mail 13 Oct. 9They thought I was playing staff, and wanted to arrest me, but later one of them understood.
in the verbal phrase to ride staff, or (occasionally) to play staff:to ride without paying on a train (or bus), often clinging to the sides, or riding on the roof; staffride.
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slang
stadthuis, nounn.staffride, verb intransitivev.
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