Meanings
plural rag-and-bone men
- IrelandUKA man who deals in scrap metal and recycled junk (originally including rags and bones, in earlier centuries).
Horses and carts are never seen now and the rag and bone man is no more. In the fifties there were still those who made a living from old clothes, especially those made from natural fibres and suitable for felting.
2009 November 24, David Fowler, NATIONAL SERVICE, ELVIS and ME!, Lulu.com, →ISBN, page 98Synonyms: bone-grubber, bone-picker, ragman, ragpicker, scrappie, scrapper
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA man who deals in scrap metal and recycled junk (originally including rags and bones, in earlier centuries).
Cite this entry
rag-and-bone man. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rag-and-bone%20man
“rag-and-bone man.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rag-and-bone%20man. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “rag-and-bone man,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rag-and-bone%20man.
Source: rag-and-bone man on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.