swag
part of speech
noun (swag — uncountable; Australia: a swag, swags); verb (swag, swags, swagged — rare)
meaning for a pupil
1) (slang) Swag means cool style and confidence in how you look or act: "He walked in with loads of swag." tree →
2) (informal) Swag is free stuff given away at events, such as badges, pens, stickers and T-shirts with a company's name. tree →
3) (old slang) Swag is stolen goods, especially what a burglar carries away in a bag. tree →
4) (Australia, New Zealand) A swag is a bedroll: a waterproof canvas bag with a mattress for sleeping outdoors; a swagman was a traveller who carried one. tree →
5) A swag is also a piece of cloth or a decoration hanging in a curve, as above a window. tree →
sense in the lessons
In everyday young people's talk "swag" is praise for style (a bit dated slang now). In stories, cartoon robbers carry a bag marked "SWAG". In Australian history and the song "Waltzing Matilda", the swagman camps by a billabong. At conventions and fairs, people collect swag. Phrases: "got swag", "conference swag", "roll out the swag", "swag bag".
examples
- The burglar ran off with a bag of swag. tree →
- We got lots of swag at the science fair: pens, stickers and a cap. tree →
- My cousin thinks his new trainers give him swag. tree →
- In the outback we slept in swags under the stars. tree →
- Once a jolly swagman camped by a billabong. tree →
- The curtains had a swag of red silk across the top. tree →
- That dance move has serious swag! (slang) tree →
note
The style sense is slang; the stolen-goods sense is old slang from robber stories. In Australia "a swag" is countable (two swags); the other senses are uncountable. "Swagger" means a proud, confident walk.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «swag» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.