Dictionary

swag bag en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /swæɡ bæɡ/

Etymology

Mid-19th century UK. From swag (“stolen goods”).

Meanings

1. A bag used to carry stolen goods.
   • Except in old-fashioned thrillers and detective stories there doesn't seem to be much talk of thieves and break-ins. There might be a robbery in P. G. Wodehouse, but only as a bit of comic business, as in the modern cartoon, where eye-mask and swag-bag identify the comic neighbourhood burglar. 2004, Vidiadhar Surajprasad Naipaul, Magic Seeds:
   • A bungling robber who had to abandon £9,000-worth of cigarettes because the swag bag was too heavy has been told he deserved every day of his four-and-a-half year sentence. 2017 March 14, James Cartledge, “Bungling raider who dumped stolen cigarettes because swag bag was too heavy loses jail appeal”, in The Birmingham Mail:
   • A career criminal was caught by police as he attempted to leave a swag bag of stolen goods with a friend's next-door neighbour. 2014 December 22, Jeremy Culley, “One of Bolton's most prolific criminals is caught after trying to leave bag of stolen goods with baffled neighbour”, in The Bolton News:
2. A bag containing free gifts or promotional material.
   • The Oscar swag bag has become a rite of passage for Academy Award nominees, where rich, good-looking celebrities are given thousands upon thousands of dollars worth of luxuries, for free. 2017 February 23, “See What Celebs Will Take Home in This Year's Oscar Swag Bag”, in Time, archived from the original on 16 Sep 2017:

Forms

Synonyms

goodie bag (bag of promotional gifts)