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

So far it has been my purpose to show that the archæologist is not a rag-and-bone man, though the public generally thinks he is, and he often thinks he is himself.

From The Treasury of Ancient Egypt Miscellaneous Chapters on Ancient Egyptian History and Archaeology by Weigall, Arthur E. P. B.

The things were sold for next to nothing to such as cared to buy them, and the local rag-and-bone man reaped a fine harvest.

From The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists by Tressell, Robert

In her indescribable childish way she would coquet with a tax-collector or a rag-and-bone man or the Archbishop of Canterbury.

From The Morals of Marcus Ordeyne : a Novel by Locke, William John