swag

See also SWAG

English

WOTD - 14 October 2011    

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA: /swæɡ/
• Rhymes: -æɡ

Noun

swag (plural swags)

1. A burglar's or thief's booty; a boodle.
   • 1838, Charles Dickens, Oliver Twist, Chapter 19:

     "It's all arranged about bringing off the swag, is it?" asked the Jew. Sikes nodded.

   • 1971 (Nov 22), Frank E. Emerson, "They Can Get It For You BETTER Than Wholeslae", New York Magazine, page 38

     He was on his way to call on other dealers to check out their swag and to see if he could trade away some of his leftover odds and ends.

2. Handouts, freebies, or giveaways, such as those handed out at conventions.
   • 2011, Mark Henry, Battle of the Network Zombies

     “Make sure to take some swag on your way out!” I called.
     He stooped a bit in mid-trot and snatched a small gold bag out of the basket at the door. The contents were mostly shit, a few drink tickets to the Well of Souls, VIP status at Convent, that sort of thing.

3. (Australian) A bushman's possessions tied up in a blanket and carried over the shoulder on a long stick.
4. (Australian, New Zealand) A large quantity (of something).
   • 2010, "Hockey: Black Sticks lose World Cup opener", in The New Zealand Herald, 31 August 2010:

     New Zealand wasted a swag of chances to lose their opening women's hockey World Cup match.

5. A loop of draped fabric.
   • 2005, Alan Hollinghurst, The Line of Beauty, Bloomsbury Publishing, page 438:

     He looked in bewilderment at number 24, the final house with its regalia of stucco swags and bows.

6. (slang) Style; a fashionable appearance or manner.
   • 2009, Mark Anthony Archer, Exile, page 119

     Now this dude got swag, and he was pushing up on me but, it wasn't like we was kicking it or anything!”

7. A low point or depression in land; especially, a place where water collects.
   • 1902, D. G. Simmons, "The Influence of Contaminated Water in the Development of Diseases", The American Practitioner and News, 34: 182.

     Whenever the muddy water would accumulate in the swag the water from the well in question would become muddy […] After the water in the swag had all disappeared through the sink-hole the well water would again become clear.

8. alternative capitalization of SWAG: a wild guess or ballpark estimate.

   I can take a swag at the answer, but it may not be right.

Derived terms

• swaggie
• swagman

Translations

burglar's or thief's booty; a boodle

Bosnian: plijen (bs) m. Finnish: saalis (fi)

French: butin (fr) m. Russian: награбленное (ru) n.

handouts, freebies, or giveaways

Finnish: mainoslahja (fi), krääsä (fi)

bushman's possessions in a drape

Finnish: nyytti (fi)

French: balluchon (fr), baluchon (fr) m.

large quantity (of something)

Finnish: massa (fi), kasa (fi)

loop of draped fabric

(slang) style; a fashionable appearance or manner

low point or depression in land

Finnish: kuoppa (fi)

SWAG — see SWAG

Verb

swag (third-person singular simple present swags, present participle swagging, simple past and past participle swagged)

1. To sway or cause to sway
2. To droop
3. To decorate (something) with loops of draped fabric.
   • 2009 January 29, Cathy Horyn, “In Paris, a Nod to Old Masters”, New York Times:

     Dior wouldn’t be Dior without the swagged ball gown […] .

Derived terms

• swagger

Anagrams

• GWAS, WAGs, wags