rag-and-bone man

American  

[rag-uhn-bohn] / ˈræg ənˈboʊn /

noun

British.

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

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rag-and-bone man British  

noun

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

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Etymology

Origin of rag-and-bone man

First recorded in 1850–55

Example Sentences

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

From New York Times • Jul. 17, 2016

The cache was discovered in the early 1980s in black binbags by rag-and-bone man George Stevens outside a scrap yard in Ardwick, Manchester.

From The Guardian • Jul. 3, 2012

With the aid of the rag-and-bone man and the woman with the tweed cap and hat-pin, the whole situation was explained and expounded to both Bindle and the policeman.

From Mrs. Bindle Some Incidents from the Domestic Life of the Bindles by Jenkins, Hebert

The rag-and-bone man, Krook, is a powerful grotesque; so is Quilp; but in the story Quilp only means Quilp; Krook means Chancery.

From Appreciations and Criticisms of the Works of Charles Dickens by Chesterton, G. K. (Gilbert Keith)

"Is it let?" enquired the rag-and-bone man from the rear.

From Mrs. Bindle Some Incidents from the Domestic Life of the Bindles by Jenkins, Hebert