bludger

plural bludgers

1. AustraliaslangA pimp, a man living off the earnings of a harlot.First known use 1856.

   Oscar pondered for a while, then said, "Oh, but halfcastes don't seem to be any good at all. All the men here are loafers and bludgers, the women practically all whores."

   1938, Xavier Herbert, chapter VII, in Capricornia, page 106

   1 more example

   This was the bludger or, in American parlance, the pimp, a man who lived on the earnings of prostitution. He was often the husband or boyfriend of a prostitute and could be actively involved in protecting or touting for the prostitute. Parliamentarians described the bludger as ‘the most detestable wretch on the face of the earth’ and as a man ‘worthy of no respect whatsoever’ (NSWPD 31:1675).

   1997, Barbara Ann Sullivan, The Politics of Sex: Prostitution and Pornography in Australia since 1945, page 30

   Synonyms: hoon, mack, whoremonger, abbot, bully, cock-bawd, dalaal, fishmonger

2. AustraliaNew ZealandderogatoryslangA person who avoids working, or doing their share of work, a loafer, a hanger-on, one who does not pull their weight.First known use 1919.

   If she is doing the work of two parents because her husband has died or left her or is violent and has driven her and the kids from home, then suddenly she is a bludger.

   2005, Australian House of Representatives, Parliamentary Debates: House of Representatives: Official Hansard, volume 270, page 84

   Synonyms: freeloader, moocher, smell-feast, bloodsucker, bummer, freeloader, free rider, gadfly

3. A widespread species of large marine fish, Carangoides gymnostethus, in the jack family, Carangidae.

   Synonyms: bludger trevally, nakedbreast trevally, Bleeker's jackfish

4. A ball used in the sports of Quidditch and Muggle Quidditch.