What does swag mean

What does swag mean

A word that was extremely overused from late 2010 to early 2012, and is now nothing more than a joke. The word «swag» once had many meanings, such as «Stuff we all get», «Scientific wild ass guess», and even just «stolen goods». The term was eventually used as ghetto slang for «swagger», and just like all ghetto slang, it caught on as a term used by preppy teenfags and douchebags alike. The overuse of the word annoyed a lot of internet users and eventually spawned a popular meme that spread though Facebook claiming that swag really is «a 60’s acronym thought up by closet homosexuals standing for «secretly we are gay» «, and even though that is a load of bullshit, it actually got the sheeple of Facebook to stop using the term.

This day in age, saying swag in a non-sarcastic way in public will probably just end up getting your ass beat, as it is no longer «in style», even for preppy teenfags. The term is still used by internet trolls, and as a joke, but that’s about it.

1.
a. An ornamental drapery or curtain draped in a curve between two points.
b. An ornamental festoon of flowers or fruit.
c. A carving or plaster molding of such an ornament.
2. Slang. Stolen property; loot.
3. Australian. The pack or bundle containing the personal belongings of a swagman.
4.
***a. Common American Slang. Cheap, low quality marijuana with a low level of THC. Typically said to range

30USD for 1/8 lb. depending on locale.***
b. Slang. Herbal tea in a plastic sandwich bag sold as marijuana to an unsuspecting customer.

intr.v., swagged, swag·ging, swags.
1. Chiefly British. To lurch or sway.
2. Australian. To travel about with a pack or swag.

Probably of Scandinavian origin.

Acronyms:
Scientific Wild Ass Guess
Semantic Web Agreement Group
Shock Wave Generator
Silly Wild Ass(ed) Guess
Simulated Waste Access to Ground Water
Sold Without A Guarantee
Sophisticated Wild Ass Guess
Souvenirs, Wearables And Gifts
Standard Written Agreement
Still Wondering and Guessing
Stolen While At Gig
Stuff We Acquired Gratis
Stuff We All Get

Why Do We Call It ‘Swag’?

It shows up at awards shows and sporting events: swag. Not just the swag that refers to free promotional items given to attendees, but also the swag that refers to stylish confidence.

It’s likely that the sense of swag which means «loot» comes from a term thieves used to describe stolen goods.

The freebie swag, sometimes also spelled schwag, dates back to the 1960s and was used to describe promotional items. According to our files, early swag was everything from promotional records sent to radio stations to free slippers for airline passengers. In short order, this particular meaning of swag broadened and soon referred to anything given to an attendee of an event (such as a conference) as a promotional stunt.

This swag didn’t gain much use until the 1990s, but it also didn’t appear out of thin air. The newer meanings were based on an older, more established meaning that referred to goods acquired by unlawful means:

Silverware in those days was the choicest swag known to burglars. —Willamette Farmer [Oregon], 14 October 1898

It’s likely that the «loot» sense of swag came into English from thieves’ cant. We have 17th-century evidence of a number of phrases from the underworld that use this sense of swag, like swag-shop (a shop selling goods) and rum swag (full of rich goods). Modern swag, however, isn’t stolen but given freely. We’ve entered this «promotional items» sense of swag into our Unabridged Dictionary.

What about the other swag? That’s a slang word that refers to stylish confidence. It shows up in songs («Check out my swag, yo / I walk like a ballplayer»—Jay Z) and social media hashtags, but this word derives from swagger, not from stolen goods. And though it sounds newer than the «free stuff» swag, this swag is actually older. We can trace it back to 1640, where it’s used to refer to «hansom swag fellowes.»

What Does Swag Mean?

Is Swag an Acronym? And Did Jay-Z Invent It?

Image (c) Dimitrios Kambouris / Staff / Getty Images

If you enter a lot of sweepstakes, chances are that you’ll end up with swag. But have you ever wondered where that word comes from? What does swag mean and how do you get more of it?

Swag’s Definition and Origin

Swag is a slang name for promotional items that advertise companies or their products. Examples include:

Swag is often themed to match the company’s products. Movies might give away posters and props as swag, while adult beverage companies might choose koozies or bottle openers.

Where Does the Word «Swag» Come From?

A lot of websites tell you with great confidence that the word «swag» is an acronym that stands for «Stuff We All Get.» They say it comes from trade shows and exhibitions where companies give away promotional items to anyone who’ll take them.

However, «Stuff We All Get» isn’t an acronym but rather a bacronym: a phrase that was created to fit a pre-existing word. There’s another bacronym for swag, too: «Souvenirs, Wearables, And Gifts.»

«Stuff We All Get» and «Souvenirs, Wearables, And Gifts. are much more recent additions to the English language than the word swag itself, which has been around since at least 1303 — hundreds of years before modern trade shows were invented.

Although it sounds like it might, the word «swag» doesn’t come from an acronym at all. It’s actually a derivation of the Scandinavian word svagga, meaning «to rock unsteadily or lurch,» according to Snopes. The word «swagger» is a close relative.

In 1303, swag first appeared in print in the context of moving. By 1794, it was used to mean pirate booty and other ill-gotten gains. Think of a bag of gold swaying from side to side and you can see the connection. Eventually, it came to mean all kinds of goodies.

Did Jay-Z Invent Swag?

As mentioned above, that idea of moving from side to side also gives English the word «swagger,» a big, confident stride. This leads us to another modern definition of «swag» — personal style or confidence.

Jay-Z coined this way of using swag on his «Black Album» in 2003 when he sang: «My self-esteem went through the roof, man. I got my swag.» Later, claimed «I invented swag» on Otis, a track from the album «Watch The Throne». However, as established above, he’s hundreds of years too late for that to be technically true. He might have coined a modern meaning for the word, but the word itself was around for much longer.

Justin Bieber also used this meaning of swag when he sang «I got money in my hands that I’d really like to blow / Swag swag swag, on you» in his song, «Boyfriend.»

Swag and Sweepstakes

Many giveaways offer swag as prizes. Companies get additional mileage for their giveaway dollars by delighting winners and advertising their business simultaneously.

Some examples of swag that has been given away in real giveaways include hundreds of pool floaties made to look like Colonel Sanders in a KFC giveaway and thousands upon thousands of wiener car squeaky toys given away by Oscar Mayer.

Most swag has a fairly low value, but that’s not always the case. Some larger swag prizes include branded Bluetooth speakers and luggage.

Want to Win Swag? Here Are Some Tips

Swag has benefits for sweepstakes sponsors who profit from the free advertising they bring. But they’re a lot of fun to win as well, especially since sponsors often give away a lot of them. And some of the swag companies give away is both funny and useful.

If you want to try your hand at winning free swag, start with the list of sweepstakes with lots of prizes. These sweepstakes have better odds of winning because so many prizes are given away, and swag is often among the possibilities.

You can also check the fashion and jewelry sweepstakes list for t-shirts, baseball caps, and other wearable swag. Instant-win giveaways are another place to look for swag giveaways.

When promotors put swag bags together for major awards shows, they occasionally make extras for giveaways. So if you’re not lucky enough to be on the guest up, pay attention to the times leading up to and just after the Oscars, the Golden Globes, and other big award shows. Those are good times to be on the lookout for free swag bags.

Что значит слово «Свэг» в молодежном сленге

Некоторые слова, которые употребляют молодые люди, совершенно незнакомы взрослому поколению. Об одном из таких слов пойдёт речь ниже, это слово swag. Оно появилось относительно недавно, а именно в 2012 году. Это означает, что подростки нулевых годов с ним были совершенно незнакомы. Причиной появления данного слова была песня под названием «Turn my swag on» или на русском языке «Оцени мой стиль». Swag там никак не переводится. Оно было принято подростками, которые сами придумали ему значения. Такое бывает периодически. Между прочим, в молодости человек легче принимает то, чему нет рационального объяснения.

Всё же можно попытаться объяснить, что это за слово. Например, его можно как-то связать со словом «круто» или «cool» с английского. Ну это слово знакомо даже тем, кто был подростком в девяностых или даже намного раньше этого периода. Крутизна была основой всего быта молодёжи всегда. На тебе крутая куртка, ты приделал к одежде крутую надпись. Фраза типа «крутая песня» была ещё во времена кассетных плееров девяностых и намного раньше этого периода.

Тем не менее, отличие между cool и swag есть. Слово «cool» обозначает крутость, как более мужское понятие. Этакий брутальный качок девяностых с цепью, крутым кассетным плеером на поясе, в бейсболке, которая надета козырьком назад. Крутизна в те годы была мужским понятием. Крутой байкер на мотоцикле или крутой бизнесмен на «мерсе». В девяностые и в начале 2000-х годов таков был идеал подростков. Тогда многие хотели быть успешными предпринимателями. А теперь переходим от брутального слова «cool» к более новому слову «swag». Так вот последнее слово означает более нежное представление о крутости. Речь идёт о гламуре, роскоши. Это уже что-то розовое. Сразу представляется юная тянка с пышными розовыми волосами из какой-нибудь современной манги, которая танцует под кошачьи мелодии.

Действительно, «swag» уже более женственное понятие, так как общество становится мягче. Нынешним идеалом уже является девушка, в стиле аниме с пышной прической и у которой на голове украшение в виде кошачьих ушек. Привет, Химари Мочизуки. Можно ещё вспомнить длинноногую девушку в мини-юбке из аниме «Евангелион» в жанре «меха», по имени Аска Ленгли Сорью. Она тоже никогда не снимала с головы ободок с кошачьими ушками. В те времена эти образы уже вовсю эксплуатировались на Западе, ведь японская аниме «Евангелион» вышла в далёких девяностых, но на территории России и граничащих с ней стран они тогда не нашли особой популярности. Но теперь тянки с кошачьими ушками на головных ободках победно шествуют по России и другим странам, рядом с ней.

Помимо мягкого образа тянки, swag ассоциируется с богатым образом жизни вообще. Это много блестящих украшений на теле, вроде золотой цепи на шее, которая была популярна в 90-е годы. Руки украшаются различными татуировками, так как они видны больше всего. Это всё swag. Также люди носят элементы, связанные с латиноамериканской популярной музыкой, это джинсы, туфли, длинные футболки, украшения с фигурками и всё остальное. Кроме того, swag ассоциируется с напитками, вроде коктейлей.

Интересно, что такой резонанс породило название песни «Turn my swag on», где слово «swag» не имело перевода. Вообще, учитывая всё сказанное, swag означает, что человек выделывается, выставляет себя на показ. Конечно, на человека с золотой цепью, увешанного различными украшениями, трудно не обратить внимание. Кстати, пришло же всё из рэпа. Музыкант, играющий в подобном направлении, должен выглядеть соответствующе, чтобы привлечь к себе внимание. Как и в прошлом времени, сегодня молодёжь отдаёт предпочтение рэпу.

Таким образом, у молодёжи появился образ в стиле swag. Он относится к одежде, украшениям. В целом, к внешнему виду. А всё ведь началось с рэпером, которым просто необходимо одеваться вызывающе и выглядеть в стиле swag. Гламур и только гламур.

I hear it a lot, but what does this slang word really mean?

6 Answers 6

UPDATE

February 01, 2018, the OED has recently added the word swag in its dictionary. Oxford Online Dictionaries reports

A new entry has been added for swag, derived from swagger, and used in slang to denote ‘bold self-assurance in style or manner’, or ‘an air of great self-confidence or superiority’. The OED’s first citation for this particular sense comes from the track ‘December 4th’ on Jay-Z’s The Black Album (2003): ‘My self-esteem went through the roof, man. I got my swag.’ This is the fifth OED citation attributed to Jay-Z.

A glossarial example of the word from the previous year, in a self-described dictionary of hip-hop terminology, defined swag as simply ‘walk’.

ORIGINAL POST

(October 12, 2016)

“Obama displayed similar swag and bluster …”

In his sixth State of the Union Address, President Obama said:

_{We’re upholding the principle that bigger nations can’t bully the small — by opposing Russian aggression, supporting Ukraine’s democracy and reassuring our NATO allies. Last year, as we were doing the hard work of imposing sanctions along with our allies, some suggested that Mr. Putin’s aggression was a masterful display of strategy and strength. Well, today, it is America that stands strong and united with our allies, while Russia is isolated, with its economy in tatters. That’s how America leads — not with bluster, but with persistent, steady resolve (Applause).
From whitehouse.gov, January 20, 2015}

The swag appears to be a clipped form of swagger, which the article accuses President Obama of doing. In the speech, the ‘swag’ refers to America standing strong, unafraid of Russia, and determined to enforce sanctions. The bluster, according to the author, is Obama’s words whose tone was possibly concealing a threat to Putin. The fact that Obama asserted America did not engage in bluster, was telling the audience that America was not afraid of taking further action if necessary.