bagman

A.Word.A.Day

with Anu Garg

bagman

PRONUNCIATION:

(BAG-man, BAG-muhn)

MEANING:

noun:
1. One who collects or distributes money from illicit activities, for example, in a protection racket.
2. UK: A traveling salesman.
3. Canada: A political fundraiser.
4. Australia: A tramp; swagman.
5. Golf: A caddie hired to carry a golf player's clubs.

ETYMOLOGY:

From the literal senses of the words bag and man.

USAGE:

"Andres Butron confessed to being a bagman in a drug operation, transporting cash collected in drug sales to Mexico."
William Lee; 3 Men Found Dead; Chicago Tribune; May 19, 2010.

"Here is an account of how the hawker, the street peddler, the lowly bagman, evolved into the mighty selling and marketing gurus of today."
Birth of a Salesman; Financial Times (London, UK); May 22, 2004.

"The party also has turned a fundraising corner with its new and energetic bagman Rocco Rossi."
Barbara Yaffe; Struggling Ignatieff Needs Peter Donolo; The Ottawa Citizen (Canada); Nov 2, 2009.

"Anyone who wants to know just how the lot of the caddie has changed need only look at Steve Williams, Tiger Woods's bagman. He is frequently referred to as the highest-paid sportsman in New Zealand."
Nomadic Life Became Byrne's Bag; Irish Times (Dublin); Nov 21, 2009.

Explore "bagman" in the Visual Thesaurus.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

Nature is ever at work building and pulling down, creating and destroying, keeping everything whirling and flowing, allowing no rest but in rhythmical motion, chasing everything in endless song out of one beautiful form into another. -John Muir, Naturalist and explorer (1838-1914)