also: たちんぼう
streetwalker; street prostitute
Specifically a woman who stands on the street soliciting customers. This is the most common modern meaning.
Sometimes streetwalkers stand in the nightlife district.
being kept standing; standing around doing nothing
Describes a situation where someone is made to stand without purpose or activity. Often used in contexts like waiting for work or being left idle.
With no work, I was kept standing around waiting at the site.
tout for a hostess bar
A person who stands on the street trying to attract customers to a hostess bar or similar establishment.
A tout is soliciting customers in front of the station.
street drug pusher
A person who stands on the street selling illegal drugs. Less common than the streetwalker sense.
The police cracked down on street drug pushers.
Most common modern spelling for the streetwalker sense; also used for other senses.
Alternate spelling with the reading たちんぼう; can be used for all senses, but less common than 立ちんぼ.
Search-only kanji form; rarely used in practice.
Derived from 立ち (tachi, 'standing') + んぼ, a suffix indicating a person characterized by the action. The exact origin of んぼ is uncertain, but it may be related to 坊 (bō, 'boy/monk') or a dialectal nominalizer.