Australian and New Zealand colloquial term for a swagman — the iconic itinerant worker of the colonial and Depression-era outback, who carried all their possessions in a swag (a bedroll) on their back as they moved from station to station seeking work. Swaggie is the affectionate diminutive, stripping the romance from the image and replacing it with something more human and a little scruffy. Immortalised in 'Waltzing Matilda,' the swaggie is a central figure in Australian folk mythology.
The old swaggie turned up at the homestead gate looking for a meal and a night in the shed, same as they always did.
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(AU, NZ, colloquial) A swagman.
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Regional slang from around the English-speaking world — British, Australian, Irish, Caribbean, Nigerian, Filipino, AAVE, and the hyphenated-English dialects that make the internet sound local.
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