The term "caboose" is thought to have derived from the Dutch word kambuis, meaning cabin house or ship's galley. Over the years they've also been called cabin cars, way cars, van cars or more derogatory nicknames, such as hacks, monkey cages and crummies.

Where did the term caboose originate?

The origins of both the car and the word are surrounded as much by legend as by fact. One popular version dates the word back to a derivation of the Dutch word "kombuis," which referred to a ship's galley. Use of cabooses began in the 1830s, when railroads housed trainmen in shanties built onto boxcars or flatcars.

What is caboose slang for?

Buttocks, in slang, due to a caboose being the "rear end" of a train. Bustle, slang, A bustle is a padded undergarment used to add fullness, or support the drapery, at the back of women's dresses in the mid-to-late 19th century.