bludger

What it means

1. 1.

   Someone who avoids work and lives off others' effort. The verb bludge means to shirk or to scrounge.

In use

• He's a bludger, never does his share.

• Can I bludge a lift off you?

  Note: The verb is far milder than the noun and is often said cheerfully about oneself.

Where it comes from

From bludgeoner, 19th-century cant for a pimp who lived off a woman's earnings. The sense narrowed to anyone living off others' work. 'Dole bludger' is a politically loaded term with a long history in Australian public debate.