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

"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

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

What looked like a rag-and-bone man blundered up first, his face a perfect tangle of beard and hair, and the eyebrows like bits of tow stuck on with sealing-wax.

From A Prisoner in Fairyland by Blackwood, Algernon