Words & TermsPeople and character
bludger
A person who avoids work or lives off the efforts of others; historically carried other underworld senses.
In a sentence
Don’t be a bludger—help us carry the tables.
Where it came from
Bludger began in nineteenth-century underworld slang for a pimp or violent companion of a prostitute, probably from bludgeoner. It later softened to a person who lives off others or avoids work.
- Initial era
- 1800–1899
- Where used
- Australian use; no narrower regional pattern established
- Use today
- Current; historical senses obsolete