The men are down and outs

[shootingstar]

From a distance,he can see the forecourt dotted with people, and even from here, he can spot Gloria's orange coat. She might be talking to someone, but he's too far away to tell. Getting nearer he's puzzled by the group of men standing there. . . .
He wasn't mistaken; the men are down and outs, hanging around Gloria. Her voice carries on the spring breeze. her bold London voice. She's talking to a tall man, not scruffy like the others, with his back to William. He's close enough now to smell the acrid, pungent odour of the tramps. Gloria spots him; he's relieved to see she smiles.

(From A Terrible Kindness by Jo Browning Wroe, Part III Family Business, scene 47- 48)

What does "the men are down" and what does "the men are outs" mean there? "Down" could mean something like "scruffy" in my opinion but "outs" puzzles me.

 

[SoothingDave]

"Down and out" is a phrase meaning someone with no job, no home. etc. Destitute.

This author pluralized that adjective and turned it into a noun. They are down and out men.

 

[Skrej]

I think there's also a slight suggestion that he (William) considers them degenerates as well.

 

[PeterCW]

This author pluralized that adjective and turned it into a noun. They are down and out men.

In BrE I would expect to come across the expression as a noun more often than as an adjective. The author of the passage is British.

 

[shootingstar]

Meanwhile, I've realised that the phrase is quite often written as "down-and-out". This spelling makes things clearer in my opinion: be down-and-out -> the men are down-and-outs.