Swag is a slang name for promotional items that advertise companies or their products. Examples include:. Swag is often themed. Movies might give away posters and props as swag, while adult beverage companies might choose koozies or bottle openers. A lot of websites tell you with great confidence that the word "swag" is an acronym that stands for "Stuff We All Get.
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.
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. In , swag first appeared in print. By , 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. 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" meaning personal style or confidence. Jay-Z coined this way of using swag on his "Black Album" in when he sang: "My self-esteem went through the roof, man. I got my swag. 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 is not highly valuable, but that's not always the case. Some larger swag prizes include branded Bluetooth speakers and luggage. And if you attend a celebrity event, a big awards ceremony, or a TED conference, you can expect a swag bag worth thousands of dollars.
Swag has benefits for the 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 that companies come up with is 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 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 their swag bags together for major awards shows, they occasionally make extras for giveaways.
So the lead-up to and just after the Oscars, the Golden Globes, and other big shows is a good time to be on the lookout for free swag bags. A sore labor it is reason that he should bestowe the rest of they care in maintaining his health by recreation and prouiding for his family: giue him leaue but to keepe out the gouernment of the Church to swear like a swag It is omitted, that Episcopomastix had a fling at the Bishoppe of London for swearing by his faith, wherefore he termeth him a Swag.
What he meaneth by that, I will not divine: but as all the rest is lewd, so surely herein he hath a lewde meaning. In the 18th century swag began to be used to refer to goods acquired by unlawful means, a sense which in the following century was joined with bag , referring to an article in which a thief transports stolen goods.
Swag bag does not have much currency as a satchel for stolen goods anymore. For a period in the middle of the 20th century it served as the name of a kind of tote bag; in modern use it typically refers to a bag containing items given away for promotional purposes.
The Swag Bag for those many extra little things. This sense of swag is distinct from the ones mentioned previously, although likely from a shared origin; it is a shortened form of swagger which is itself thought to have come from the earlier swag.
While looking in their closets, they are grappling with ways to "turn their swag on" with the latest fashions often commercialized and sometimes designed by hip hop culture. When your twig hut is covered over with oil tin labels from the USA, you've got some serious swag, your dreams are the dreams of Texans, inside no one knows the blues rippling across your forehead, your interior smells like the beaches of Long Island.
On Sunday, hometown faves Derrick Carter and Jamila Woods tear up the Blue stage while Beyonce's little sister, Solange, brings her grown woman swag as the headliner on the Green stage. Dratcher, Chicago Defender , 12 Jul. Out of these come the swag-belly'd Secretaries, and Purple Chancellors of Emperours and Kings; who govern all affairs of State, dispose of all Favours, Gifts, Benefits, Offices, Dignities and Patents of the prince; who sell all Right and Justice, all Law, Equity and Honesty, and compel others to purchase of them.
Want they meate? Swag , with its constantly shifting meanings, its adding and losing senses, is a word that well represents the story of English. The nature of any living language is impermanence; words and meanings come and go, and lexicographers typically restrain themselves from picking favorites, or trying to resurrect a word or phrase which has died a natural death. Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free! Log in Sign Up.
What to Know Swag may have Scandinavian roots referring to a bag. More Words At Play. Merriam-Webster's Words of the Week - Oct. Merriam-Webster's Words of the Week - Nov.
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