SWAG
JMitch8412
As we all know, the definition of SWAG is free stuff manufacturers or dealers
hand out to promote their products...t-shirts, hats, mugs, all that
stuff...does anyone know the origin of the word??? I need help with this!!
Thanks!
Richard_Grevers
jmitc...@aol.com (JMitch8412) writes: > As we all know, the definition of SWAG is free stuff manufacturers or dealers
> hand out to promote their products...t-shirts, hats, mugs, all that
> stuff...does anyone know the origin of the word??? I need help with this!!
> Thanks!
swag. v.i. to sway, to sag: (often with it) to travel around carrying
a bundle (Australian slang). n. a festoon: a subsidance, as of ground over a mine:
a bundle of possessions carried by one on foot (esp Australian): plunder
[related to sway, prob Scandinavian]
Interestingly, swagger has the same root. Some other Australian variants
include swagshop (a place where cheap and trashy goods are sold) and
swagsman, a burglars accomplice who carries the loot.
The connection seems obvious enough!
all together now...
"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
You'll come a waltzing Matilda with me" ...
RG
Mick Addison Smith
It's always been my impression that SWAG was an acronym for 'Stuff We
All Get'. At least that's what a guy that works at Vari*Lite had said.
--
__________________
Mick Addison Smith
Lighting Designer/ Electrician
http://www.flash.net/~lumen
Cue42
Hmmm......I always presumed it was derived from the British
term for things "stolen".....as in "the thief carried away his bag o'
swag"......
My GUESS as to where the British term derives from would be
the use of a drawstring purse/bag by burglers which, when full,
resembled the fob on the end of a pull cord (aka "a swag").....or
possibly some bowlderization of the term used to describe the
"pulling away" of curtains (ie: to "swag them") due to the
"gathering up/together" of things.......
Just my $.02........
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------
"It's kind of fun to do the impossible."
- Walter Elias Disney -
Philip Hazel
In article <19980309135...@ladder03.news.aol.com>, cu...@aol.com (Cue42) writes:
|>
|> Hmmm......I always presumed it was derived from the British
|> term for things "stolen".....as in "the thief carried away his bag o'
|> swag"......
|>
|> My GUESS as to where the British term derives from would be
Time for the Concise Oxford Dictionary:
The 1977 edition gives the first meaning as "ornamental festoon of
flowers etc., drapery or moulded representation of this", with the
second as "booty carried off by burglars" and then the Australian
meaning, but with no clue as to the origin.
However, I have also got the 1912 edition, which is often useful for old
words. It has only the "booty carried off by burglars" meaning, and it
states that it is from the obsolete verb "to swag" meaning "to hang
swaying", said of a bundle, fat belly, etc.
--
Philip Hazel
University Computing Service, Cambridge, England.
Richard Nix
JMitch8412 wrote:
> As we all know, the definition of SWAG is free stuff manufacturers or dealers
> hand out to promote their products...t-shirts, hats, mugs, all that
> stuff...does anyone know the origin of the word??? I need help with this!!
> Thanks!
swag (swag) n. loot. (quoted form oxford's)
--
*****remove the obvious anti-spam device to reply*****
sorry for the inconvenience - can you say "kill spam"?
Terry L. Price
In article <35043237...@ntr.net>, remove**to.r...@my.address wrote:
> This is a multi-part message in MIME format.
> --------------BD68D2ECEA198BD4CC3F3856
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
> Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
>
>
>
> JMitch8412 wrote:
>
> > As we all know, the definition of SWAG is free stuff manufacturers or
dealers...
'n here I thought is was stuff "Stolen Without Any Guilt".
tlp
Keith&Lilian Robinson
I always thought it was Scientific Wild Ass Guess
In article <terry_price-ya02408...@bunews.baylor.edu>,
RonaldBeal
I always heard that it stood for Stuff We All Get, or Stuff We Ain't Getting,
depending on the show. (however I suspect the "loot" origion is the correct
one
Just ANOTHER wiggle light guy
Eddie Kramer
In article <88942587...@newsch.es.co.nz>, Richard_Grevers
<gre...@nospam.ihug.co.nz> wrote:
> all together now...
> "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
> You'll come a waltzing Matilda with me" ...
OK
What is a billabong?
Likewise a billy?
And who is Matilda?
--
E S Kramer Local One IATSE, Radio City Music Hall, NEC Panel 15
JMitch8412
Thanks to all of you for your wonderful responses...It shows what smart guys
and gals we are in this field...Anyone else feel like contributing, please do!
StuT488
Two versions I've heard:
Stuff We All Got
Stuff We Ain't Getting
Regards,
Stu Tygert
roger traviss
Eddie Kramer (Eskramer*NO_Spam*@infohouse.com*No_Spam*) wrote:
: In article <88942587...@newsch.es.co.nz>, Richard_Grevers
: <gre...@nospam.ihug.co.nz> wrote:
: > all together now...
: > "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
: > You'll come a waltzing Matilda with me" ...
: OK
: What is a billabong?
AFAIK a "pond".
: Likewise a billy?
AFAIK a metal container used in camping to boil water in.
: And who is Matilda?
Don't know who Matilda was but AFAIK "waltzing matilda" is roving from
place to place.
The subject of this Aussie ballad is a tramp who wanders from place to
place. He's stolen a sheep, is discovered by the police while
he's boiling water next to a pound, jumps into the pond to escape the
police and drowns.
From memories of school in the UK in the 1950s.
Cheers,
Roger Traviss
From rainy Victoria, BC Canada
Richard_Grevers
roge...@islandnet.com (roger traviss) writes: > Eddie Kramer (Eskramer*NO_Spam*@infohouse.com*No_Spam*) wrote:
> : In article <88942587...@newsch.es.co.nz>, Richard_Grevers
> : <gre...@nospam.ihug.co.nz> wrote:
>
> : > all together now...
> : > "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
> : > You'll come a waltzing Matilda with me" ...
>
>
> : OK
>
> : What is a billabong?
>
> AFAIK a "pond".
>
> : Likewise a billy?
>
> AFAIK a metal container used in camping to boil water in.
>
> : And who is Matilda?
>
> Don't know who Matilda was but AFAIK "waltzing matilda" is roving from
> place to place.
>
> The subject of this Aussie ballad is a tramp who wanders from place to
> place. He's stolen a sheep, is discovered by the police while
> he's boiling water next to a pound, jumps into the pond to escape the
> police and drowns.
>
According to Brewers dictionary of Phrase and Fable:
"Waltzing Matilda: An Australian phrase made famous by the poet A B. (Banjo) Patterson
(1864-1941) It means carrying or humbing ones bag or pack as a tramp does. Henry
Lawson (the Romance of Song) says "Travelling with swag in Australia is
variously known as 'humping bluey', 'walking Matilda', 'humping Matilda',
'humping your drum', 'being on the wallaby'...
The reason for the Tramp's roll being called a Matilda is obscure; to waltz
conveys the impression of tramping along with one's pack jogging up and down
with one's steps."
Brewers also confirms the definition of swag that I quoted fro Chambers
dictionary earlier. Also pointing out the traditional British cartoon
depiction of a burglar carrying a bag marked "Swag".
And of course the modern trend tis to turn everything into an acronym!
Cheers RG, from rainy (and boy do we need it) and muggy Christchurch.
John Arrowsmith
In article <88952893...@newsch.es.co.nz>, Richard_Grevers
<gre...@nospam.ihug.co.nz> writes
>humbing
"humbing"???? :-))
Byeeeee, Richard!
John
--
John Arrowsmith, hosting the
South Hunsley School Newsletters (Rated "3-star" by Demon Webmasters)
at http://www.arrowsmith.demon.co.uk (I *must* try harder :-))
and (*new*)
South Hunsley School's Global Rock Challenge News
at http://www.arrowsmith.demon.co.uk/globrock.htm
Hurtin
Swag, in modern touring vernacular, means "really neat free stuff that is a few
sizes too small"
John Keating
Hur...@AOL.com