Definition of swagman in English:
swagman
nounPlural swagmenˈswaɡman
Australian, NZ A person carrying a swag or bundle of belongings.
Example sentencesExamples
- Fewer and fewer people living in this country feel any cultural connection with jolly swagmen, billabongs and coolibah trees.
- The Balinese onlookers tried to understand why the Australian contingent was getting all choked up by a song about a swagman who stole a sheep and then drowned himself.
- The song is just about resistance to heavy handed authority when the swagman in fact rejected most of the trappings of society, either out of necessity or choice.
- Homeless men were, in Australia, known as ‘swagmen’ ‘cause they carried a swag around with them, which was a rolled up sleeping mat and waterproof blanket.
- The squatter sends another swagman to the billabong to trick our hero into taking a walk, the rat hands our hero to the cops, he's paid off and our hero goes to jail?
Synonyms
vagrant, vagabond, homeless person, derelict, down-and-out