hump strap

n. a band, belt, rope, or similar long, narrow strip used for carrying heavy objects, especially on one’s back. Subjects: English, Jargon

Editorial Note: The most common way to use a hump strap is to wrap it once securely around the object to be moved, take each end of the strap over a shoulder from back to front, and then, moving from a squatting to a standing position, grip and pull the ends (or, if the hump strap is a loop without free ends, the other side of the loop) of the strap forward and downward in order to lift the object up on one’s back as one stands. Hump straps are also used to hold many boxes or other items on a dolly or hand truck or as a sling for large furniture that might otherwise require the lifter to bend at the waist. Thanks to Erin McKean for suggesting hump strap as an entry. Etymological Note: According to the Historical Dictionary of American Slang, the verb hump, meaning to hoist or carry (a bundle) upon the back or to carry or shift (a heavy object), not necessarily upon the back, dates to at least as early as 1851. The earliest quotations so far found are Australian.

Comments? | Cites | Permalink | Tell a Friend

Citations: 1993 [Julius Chang] Usenet: rec.guns (Mar. 28) “Re: Safe Manufacturers”: A mover actually put the Mosler on his back using a “hump” strap and walked the safe down a long flight of stairs when I moved recently. 2001 Michael Hetts Floor Covering Installer (Woodland Hills, California) (Jan. 19) “Thoughts and Tips For a New Year”: The second is a trick I use to make moving furniture easier on your back. Fold your 25-foot extension cord into fourths…, creating a 6-foot “hump strap.” This allows you to pick up and move heavy objects, like this hide-a-bed…, with less strain on your back. 2002 Frank Bentayou Plain Dealer (Cleveland, Ohio) (June 2) “Packing, transporting everything you own goes easy with crew of experienced professionals” p. E1: Moving quickly, Hassing and Granath use two-wheeled dollies to move what seem impossibly high stacks of boxes through the drizzle. Granath unwraps his “hump strap” from his waist, using it to carry big, heavy boxes “without screwing up my back,” he says. 2003 [randy] Usenet: pdx.forsale (July 20) “Man Shoulder DOLLY System $200.00”: With this harness & humpstrap setup 2 people can move bulky mass effortlessly. Purchased for multiple family move and saved my back among other things. 2004 Gary Navarre CLAYART List (Oct. 20) “Woodfiring/ Ash Glazes/ Koie Cooker 2nd ed.”: I did strap myself in with my Fathers 3 ft. WWII canvas trunk belt. I needed to do that so I could use my pole pruner up in the top part of the tree. It also came in handy as a hump strap to haul the limbs to my bundling spot.

Posted 18 May 06 | Permalink | Tell a Friend