swagman

English
WOTD – 26 January 2021

Etymology
A c. 1901 photograph of a swagman in New South Wales, Australia.

From swag (“items stolen by a thief; unlawfully obtained goods; (Australia, New Zealand) bundle of personal items carried by a tramp, traveller, etc.”) +‎ man.[1]

Pronunciation

Noun

swagman (plural swagmen)

  1. (Australia, New Zealand, historical) A man who travels around with a swag (“bundle of personal items”); specifically, an itinerant person, often seeking work in exchange for food and lodging.
    Synonyms: hobo, (Australia, obsolete) sundowner, swagger, (diminutive) swaggie, swagsman, (Australia, dated) traveller, (New Zealand) tussocker; see also Thesaurus:vagabond
    • 1865 November 18, Robert P. Whitworth, “Mary Summers: A Romance of the Australian Bush”, in The Australian Journal: A Weekly Record of Literature, Science, and the Arts, volume I, number 12, Melbourne, Vic., Sydney, N.S.W.: Clarson, Massina, and Co., […], published 1866, →OCLC, chapter XVIII (The New Hut), page 177, column 2:
      And then the swagman was such a companionable little fellow, and told such funny little yarns, and sung so many snatches of odd songs whilst he was at work that once or twice the old man relaxed the cross expression of his facial muscles, and allowed himself to be betrayed into a grim smile, and at last suffered himself to be drawn into conversation, although his answers were short and snappish.
    • 1867 September 14, “a swagman”, “In Forma Pauperis”, in The Australian Journal: A Weekly Record of Literature, Science, and the Arts, volume III, number 107, Melbourne, Vic.: William Clarson and Albert Massina, […]; Sydney, N.S.W.: Joseph T. B. Gibbs and Joseph T. Shallard, […], published 1866, →OCLC, page 44, column 2:
      Then the bells struck up for church, and the streets became crowded with well-dressed, warmly-clothed people, hurrying to their various places of worship, and casting glances of pitying curiosity at the two miserable, half-drowned swagmen as they passed.
    • 1869 December, “The Australian Farmer”, in The Farmer’s Magazine, volume XXXVI (Third Series; volume LXVI overall), number 6, London: Rogerson and Tuxford, […], →OCLC, page 490, column 2:
      [T]he class who exercise the most depressing influence on these rates, little as the unhappy men think themselves so, will be found to consist of idlers and swagmen.
    • 1872, George S[myth] Baden-Powell, “Wayfarers”, in New Homes for the Old Country. A Personal Experience of the Political and Domestic Life, the Industries, and the Natural History of Australia and New Zealand, London: Richard Bentley and Son, […], →OCLC, page 122:
      Some men, under this plea of "wanting a job," are merely travelling from one part of the country to another for private reasons, and they pick up meat, bread, and tea at each station they pass. [...] We have already remarked that these bush- or swagmen carry "swags," i.e. a blanket made up into a roll six feet in length; the two ends lashed together making the whole resemble one huge horse-collar: this is carried either hanging from one shoulder or resting on the head and back like a coalheaver's pad.
    • 1895 August (date composed), A[ndrew] B[arton (“Banjo”)] Paterson, “Waltzing Matilda: (Carrying a Swag.)”, in The Collected Verse of A. B. Paterson: […], Sydney, N.S.W.: Angus & Robertson, published 1921 (1965 printing), →OCLC, page 213:
      Oh! there once was a swagman camped in a Billabong, / Under the shade of a Coolabah tree; / And he sang as he looked at his old billy boiling, / "Who'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me?"
    • 1902, Barbara Baynton, “The Chosen Vessel”, in Bush Studies (The Greenback Library; 5), London: Duckworth & Co., […], →OCLC, page 143:
      She was not afraid of horsemen; but swagmen, going to, or worse, coming from the dismal, drunken little township, a day′s journey beyond, terrified her. One had called at the house today, and asked for tucker.
    • 2007, Melissa Harper, “The Bush, My Lover”, in The Ways of the Bushwalker: On Foot in Australia, Sydney, N.S.W.: University of New South Wales Press, →ISBN, page 100:
      In his prose works Landlopers and Knocking Round, [John Le Gay] Brereton penned affectionate portraits of shearers, swagmen and farmers' wives, based on people he had met on his walks.
    • 2009, Bronwyn Sell, “John Caffrey, c. 1850–87”, in Law Breakers & Mischief Makers: 50 Notorious New Zealanders, [U.S.A.]: ReadHowYouWant.com, published 2010, →ISBN, page 72:
      The policeman thought it best to surprise the man, since he might be armed, so he disguised himself as a swagman and pounced as the man returned from his bridge-painting job.
  2. (British, archaic) A person who sells or trades in trinkets or items of low value.
  3. (US, slang) A middleman who buys and sells stolen goods; a fence.
    • 1971 November 22, Frank E. Emerson, “They Can Get It for You BETTER Than Wholesale”, in Clay S[chuette] Felker, editor, New York, volume 4, number 47, New York, N.Y.: NYM Corporation, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 34:
      He is, in the street talk, a swagman, one of perhaps hundreds of hustlers in the city who distribute an estimated $5-million worth of goods ripped off each year at New York's airports, waterfronts, factories and truck parts. [...] According to Tommy, the mob uses swagmen like himself as down-the-line distributors for these large jobs.

Derived terms

Translations
middleman who buys and sells stolen goods — see fence

References
  1. “swagman, n.” under “swag, n.1”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, 1918; “swagman, n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

Further reading

Anagrams
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