rag-and-bone man

[ rag-uhn-bohn ]

/ ˈræg ənˈboʊn /

Save This Word!

noun British.

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

QUIZ

ALL IN FAVO(U)R OF THIS BRITISH VS. AMERICAN ENGLISH QUIZ

There's an ocean of difference between the way people speak English in the US vs. the UK. Are your language skills up to the task of telling the difference? Let's find out!

Question 1 of 7

True or false? British English and American English are only different when it comes to slang words.

true

false

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of rag-and-bone man

First recorded in 1850–55

Words nearby rag-and-bone man

raftsman, RAFVR, rag, raga, ragamuffin, rag-and-bone man, ragbag, rag bolt, rag doll, rage, rage farming

How to use rag-and-bone man in a sentence

As an example of good science-and-society policymaking, the history of fluoride may be more of a cautionary tale.
Anti-Fluoriders Are The OG Anti-Vaxxers|Michael Schulson|July 27, 2016|DAILY BEAST
In the first episode, an officer is shown video of himself shooting and killing a man.
'Babylon' Review: The Dumb Lives of Trigger-Happy Cops|Melissa Leon|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Then Ziegler tosses the buff LaBeouf around like a rag doll.
Sia and Shia LaBeouf’s Pedophilia Nontroversy Over ‘Elastic Heart’|Marlow Stern|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
That man was Xavier Cortada, a gay man who wrote of his frustration that he and his partner of eight years were unable to marry.
Jeb Bush’s Unseen Anti-Gay Marriage Emails|Jackie Kucinich|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST

It is the summit of human happiness: the surrender of man to God, of woman to man, of several women to the same man.
Houellebecq’s Incendiary Novel Imagines France With a Muslim President|Pierre Assouline|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Davy looked around and saw an old man coming toward them across the lawn.
Davy and The Goblin|Charles E. Carryl
The supernaturalist alleges that religion was revealed to man by God, and that the form of this revelation is a sacred book.
God and my Neighbour|Robert Blatchford
The most High hath created medicines out of the earth, and a wise man will not abhor them.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version|Various
He remembered something—the cherished pose of being a man plunged fathoms-deep in business.
St. Martin's Summer|Rafael Sabatini
On the thirteenth of the same month they bound to the stake, in order to burn alive, a man who had two religious in his house.
The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898, Volume XX, 1621-1624|Various

British Dictionary definitions for rag-and-bone man

rag-and-bone man

noun

British a man who buys and sells discarded clothing, furniture, etcAlso called: ragman, ragpicker US equivalent: junkman

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012