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

You’re a nice old sort for a rag-and-bone man: can’t hold a bag open!

From The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson, Volume XV by Stevenson, Robert Louis

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

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)