obsolete To be self-sufficient by using only one's own resources. An allusion to camels, whose humps store large deposits of fat that allow them to survive for long periods without eating. He decided to cut his children off from his money and let them live on their own humps for once. After high school, I gathered up all the money I'd been saving, moved out of my parents' house, and set out to live on my hump for the first time in my life.