See Also: swag(1)(dictionary)
swag(2)(dictionary)
swag(dictionary)

swag(1) (iou)



swag noun & adjective. [swag] ME.
[Prob. from the verb (though earlier).]
A. noun.
A bulging bag. Cf. senses 6, 7 below. Only in ME.
A large blustering man. L16-M18.
(A) swaying or lurching movement. Now chiefly Scot. & dial. M17.
local.
a. A heavy fall or drop. L17.
b. Subsidence; a sunken area of ground which collects water. M19.
A shop; a person who runs a shop selling trashy goods. arch. slang. L17.
A bundle of personal belongings carried by a traveller (spec. in the Australian bush), a tramp, or a miner. Now Austral. & NZ. E18.
C. Barrett With a light swag slung across my back, I set out.
The stolen goods carried off by a thief or burglar; gen. illicit gains. slang. L18.
U. Sinclair The 'swag'..a gold watch..a silver pencil.
An ornamental festoon of flowers, foliage, or fruit; a carved or moulded representation of this; a curtain or drapery fastened so as to hang like this. L18.
A. Carter The curtains swished open, gathering in swags at each side of a small stage. A. S. Byatt A high moulded ceiling, bulging with swags of..roses and..plaster apples. A. Lee A tunnel hung with swags of Virginia creeper.
A great quantity of something (now chiefly Austral. & NZ slang); dial. a large draught of liquor. E19.
D. Hewett Collecting a swag of empty milk bottles under his arm. Dressage Review The young rider, with a swag of horses to choose from.
b. attrib. or as adjective. (Of goods) trifling, trashy; (of a shop or trader) selling such goods. slang. E19.
Comb.: swag lamp, swag light N. Amer. an overhead light externally wired so that the flex hangs in a loop across the ceiling; swagman (a) a man who sells trashy goods; (b) Austral. & NZ a man who travels with a swag; swagsman = swagman (b).
swaggie noun (Austral. colloq.) = swagman (b) L19.