"Hey, Rube!" is a slang phrase most commonly used in the United States by circus and traveling carnival workers ("carnies"), with origins in the middle 19th century. It is a rallying call, or a cry for help, used by carnies in a fight with outsiders. It is also sometimes used to refer to such a fight: "The clown got a black eye in a Hey, Rube." The term is still known and used today in circuses, but usually as an allusion to the "glory days" when circuses were rowdy affairs, rather than in actual fights.