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swagman

American  
[swag-muhn] / ˈswæg mən /

noun

Australian.
swagmen plural
  1. a tramp, hobo, or vagabond.

  2. anyone who carries a swag while traveling, as a camper or prospector.


swagman British  
/ ˈswæɡˌmæn, -mən /

noun

  1. Also called: swagger.   swaggieinformal a labourer who carries his personal possessions in a pack or swag while travelling about in search of work; vagrant worker

"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

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

Etymology

Origin of swagman

First recorded in 1875–80; swag 2 + -man

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

The Australians, to whom this enthusiasm was second nature, roared into Bardia singing: Once a jolly swagman camped by a billabong Under the shade of a coolibah tree.

From Time Magazine Archive

Down came a jumbuck to drink at the billabong, Up jumped the swagman and grabbed him with glee.

From Time Magazine Archive

Up jumped the swagman and sprang into the billabong, "You'll never take me alive," said he.

From Time Magazine Archive

Macauley, at 35, was a proud and able swagman, i.e., itinerant sheep-station hand, who hated cities, where you always need "a penny for the slot and a key for the door."

From Time Magazine Archive

The swagman sat down on the ground and nursed his leg.

From A Little Bush Maid by Bruce, Mary Grant

Very soon, one suspects, the swagmen on Sir Matt Busby Way will have to update their "Giggsy 12 Gerrard 0" T-shirts paying homage to his unprecedented collection of title wins.

From The Guardian Mar. 1, 2013

Hoppner and I acquired the tea-habit as badly as the rest of the Australian swagmen.

From Tramping on Life An Autobiographical Narrative by Kemp, Harry

Why, I’ve heard shearers, and hawkers, and swagmen spouting him by the yard!

From A Bride from the Bush by Hornung, E. W. (Ernest William)

For travellers must carry bags, And swagmen have to hump their swags Like bottle-ohs or ragmen.

From The Magic Pudding by Lindsay, Norman

With one exception, the men do not seem hard up; at least, not as that condition is understood by the swagmen of these times.

From While the Billy Boils by Lawson, Henry

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