Home UK English rag-and-bone man

Meaning of rag-and-bone man in English:

rag-and-bone man

Pronunciation

Translate rag-and-bone man into Spanish

nounplural noun rag-and-bone men

British

  • A person who travels round an area buying old or unwanted clothes and household items in order to sell them on.

    ‘One photograph reminded me of a time long ago, when I was just a child and the likes of traveling minstrels, tinkers, gypsies, rag-and-bone men et al, were the norm.’
    • ‘Now virtually extinct, the rag-and-bone man was once a familiar figure trundling his cart along suburban streets with his age-old cry: ‘Any old RAG-bones!’’
    • ‘Twentieth century mainstream British art has been immeasurably enriched by the paintings of the retired Cornish fisherman and rag-and-bone man, Alfred Wallis.’