Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. Australian A man who seeks casual work while traveling about carrying his swag.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. A seller of low-priced trashy goods, trinkets, etc.
- n. A man who travels in search of employment: so called because he carries his swag, or bundle of clothes, blanket, etc. Also swags-man, swagger.
Wiktionary
- n. Australia, historical An itinerant person who walks from farm to farm carrying a swag and seeking work, often in exchange for food and lodging.
- n. US, slang A fence, a middleman for transactions of stolen goods.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. A bushman carrying a swag and traveling on foot; -- called also
swagsman ,swagger , andswaggie .
WordNet 3.0
- n. an itinerant Australian laborer who carries his personal belongings in a bundle as he travels around in search of work
Etymologies
- From swag + man; Australian sense from 1869. (Wiktionary)
Examples
“The existence of the swagman is the happiest vagrant's life in the world.”
“In any case, though I had not thought about the matter before, I guess the jolly swagman was a sheep rustler, wasn't he?”
“Also characteristic of swagman attire was a hat strung with corks to ward off flies.”
invisible waltz partner - Lolcats 'n' Funny Pictures of Cats - I Can Has Cheezburger?
“A swagman also called tussocker is an old Australian term describing an underclass of transient temporary workers, who travelled by foot from farm to farm carrying the traditional swag.”
invisible waltz partner - Lolcats 'n' Funny Pictures of Cats - I Can Has Cheezburger?
“But the swagman he up and jumped in the water hole”
australian bobsleigh team - Lolcats 'n' Funny Pictures of Cats - I Can Has Cheezburger?
“OH hai, LadyM…once a jolly swagman, camped by a billagong, under da shade ub a kooliba tree and he sang as sat an wayted wile his billy boiled, yull come a waltzing matilda wif me…happy to refresh da eerwurm fur ya!”
Someday my prints will come… - Lolcats 'n' Funny Pictures of Cats - I Can Has Cheezburger?
“Oh there once was a swagman who camped in the billabong”
“And the swagman he up and he jumped in the waterhole”
“Once a jolly swagman, sat beside a billabong ...”
“The Bushman of Bunyip Billabong tells the tale of a careless swagman, who learns his lesson for disrespecting the environment.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘swagman’.
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on the road again
waifs and estrays, errant, stray, prodigal, mendicant, tripper, trekker, trouper, tourist, adventurer, jet-setter, voyager and 59 more...
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Man
Everything that contains a man in it
taxman, salesman, common man, spaceman, neolithic man, straw man, seaman, fireman, spiderman, overman, old man, con man and 373 more...
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Tunie: Waltzing Matilda
Once a jolly swagman camped by a billabong
Under the shade of a coolibah tree
And he sang as he watched and waited till his billy boiled,
"Who'll come a-waltzing matilda with me?"ghost, troopers, thoroughbred, squatter, tucker bag, shoved, glee, jumbuck, matilda, waltzing matilda, billy, coolibah and 2 more...
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Australian Derivation ... or, you kno...
Words I heard there. Or from Australians.
didjeridoo, budgerigar, kangaroo, wombat, kookaburra, echidna, koala, dreamtime, matilda, waltzing matilda, billabong, coolibah and 44 more...
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the Many Faces of Vagabonding
spiv, viatical, gamine, proxemics, hiraeth, saudade, antevasin, swagman, hyemation, divagate, solivagant, longinquity and 2 more...
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elusivecritter's Words
penchant, verisimilitude, docent, bronx, wholesome, pizzle, illusion, shadow, anomaly, nonesuch, singular, bibelot and 9 more...
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Charlene's word list
some for their relevance,some because they are so beautiful, some so fun, then, some so ugly....
Tweets
Looking for tweets for swagman.
chained_bear Australia/New Zealand: a man who travels with a swag or bedroll. See also waltzing matilda.
Once a jolly swagman camped by a billabong
Under the shade of a coolibah tree.
--A.B. Paterson, "Waltzing Matilda"
Edit: Another usage on bluey. Feb 6, 2007