I was recently very bothered by an IHop commercial in which a man says, "this waffle has swag!" I have always believed that Swag meant "Stuff We all Get," having gone to a university where we got a lot of swag on a regular basis (t-shirts, lanyards, bracelets, beer can cozies, you name it.)
"Why can't people even be bothered to use slang words correctly, let alone real words?" (Don't get me started on literally or epic.)
My father, sitting in an armchair beside me in the living room, corrected me.
"No, it means "ill-gotten gains," he said, in his knowledgeable fatherly that makes me think he would be a great history teacher if he weren't a fantastic travel agent.
Curious, I decided to research this topic. Apparently, the word "swag" has several different definitions. So far I have found 16. I don't know about you, but that seems pretty excessive for one word/acronym. Thoughts?
1. Stuff We All Get (promotional items given away for free)
2. Something We All Get tired of hearing
3. Something We [insert nationality beginning with A here] Got
4. Secretly We Are Gay
5. Shit Wasn't All Good
6. Southern Whites Against Godzilla
7. Something Worn Awfully in the Ghetto
8. Scientific Wild Ass Guess
9. Silver, Wine, Art and Gold
10. an ornamental festoon of flowers, fruit, and greenery.
11. money or goods taken by a thief or burglar.
12. to arrange in or decorate with a swag or swags of fabric.
13. to travel with one's personal belongings in a bundle.
14. a bedroll
15. originally from the Scottish slang word "swagger" which was a description of the way some Scots walk (in a swaying motion), the word was then misinterpreted by the English as "the way someone presents themselves."
16. the catchphrase of douchebags everywhere.
17. a process in which the dimensions of an item are altered using a die.
Sources:
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=swag%20(s.w.a.g.)
http://ph.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20120218065836AAmqqNA
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swag
