ride the rods

English

Verb

ride the rods (third-person singular simple present rides the rods, present participle riding the rods, simple past rode the rods, past participle ridden the rods)

1. (US, slang) To travel illicitly by clinging to the supporting rods under a freight train.
   • 1970, Colonel Red Reeder, Dinosaurs A to Z, published 2008:

     And a dangerous extracurricular activity had helped turn his muscles to iron: he “rode the rods” with other boys, clinging to the underframework of Union Pacific freight cars rumbling through Abilene.

   • 2007, Rilla Askew, Harpsong:

     I nearly ran right into one jabbing his shotgun underneath the car, checking to see if somebody was under there riding the rods.