ATDTDA (2): "wheelfolk appeared" 42.1)

[David Morris]

Wheel "folk" instead of "men" in order to include (scandalous) women.

http://www.thewheelmen.org/

wheel·man
–noun, plural -men.
1. a helmsman or steersman.
2. a rider of a bicycle, tricycle, or the like.
3. Slang.
a. a driver, esp. a chauffeur: The mobster's wheelman was also his bodyguard.
b. a person who drives the getaway car in a holdup or robbery.

[Origin: 1860–65, Americanism; wheel + -man]



On 2/8/07, Tim Strzechowski <dedalus204 at comcast.net> wrote:
> Spring, arrived, wheelfolk appeared in the streets and parks, in gaudy striped socks and long-billed "scorcher" caps (p. 42).