rag-and-bone man

[rag-uhn-bohn]

noun

British.

1. a peddler who buys and sells used clothes, rags, etc.; junkman.

rag-and-bone man

noun

1. US equivalent: junkman. Also called: ragman.  ragpicker. a man who buys and sells discarded clothing, furniture, etc

Word History and Origins

Origin of rag-and-bone man¹

First recorded in 1850–55

Example Sentences

An Irving Penn series commissioned once by Withers similarly portrays men and women holding traditional blue-collar jobs: a chimney sweep, a cobbler, a fishmonger and what was then known as a rag-and-bone man, a sack slung over his shoulder.

From New York Times

Death could tug readers’ heartstrings, drive serial sales or lend credence to controversial scientific theories, as with the spontaneous combustion of the rag-and-bone man Mr. Krook in “Bleak House,” an impossible conversion of matter into ooze that Dickens lustily defended.

From New York Times

Exploring alternatives, he moves even further back on the historical scale, trying his luck as a rag-and-bone man.

From New York Times

Job possibilities seemed more varied and exciting: my boyfriend dropped out of school, became a rag-and-bone man, and found us a stall on the Portobello Road, where I sold tailors’ trimmings – a heavenly relief after a week teaching music in Tower Hamlets.

From The Guardian

Hip-hop’s rag-and-bone man took the stage and let fly with his eroticized paen to second-hand shopping, the massive hit “Thrift Shop” — and the crowd went ballistic.

From Seattle Times