dragsman
(ˈdrægzmən)
1. The driver of a drag or coach.
| 1812 Sporting Mag. XXXIX. 284 He slanged the dragsman..which means that he sneaked away from the coach, without even apologizing for his want of means of paying. 1840 Thackeray Shabby-genteel Story i, He had..a nod for the shooter or guard, and a bow for the dragsman. 1885 New Bk. Sports 166 Men do not drive nowadays with the skill which used to characterize the gentleman dragsman. |
2. Rogues' cant. A robber of vehicles, a dragger.
| 1812 J. H. Vaux Flash Dict., Dragsman, a thief who follows the game of dragging. 1851 Mayhew Lond. Labour (1862) II. 332 ‘Dragsmen’, i.e. those persons who steal goods or luggage from carts and coaches. |
3. One employed to drag a river-bed, etc.
| 1896 Daily News 15 Apr. 6/5 When every inch of the dark river bed..has been raked..the dragsmen..move round on to the towing path and begin again. |