View synonyms for sundowner

sundowner

[ suhn-dou-ner ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

Chiefly British. an alcoholic drink taken after completing the day's work, usually at sundown.
Australian. a tramp or hobo, especially one who arrives at a homestead near sundown in order to avoid having to work in exchange for shelter.

sundowner

/ ˈsʌnˌdaʊnə /

obsolete.
a tramp, esp one who seeks food and lodging at sundown when it is too late to work
nautical a strict ship's officer
informal.
an alcoholic drink taken at sunset
slang.
a lazy sheepdog

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First recorded in 1870–75; sundown + -er ¹

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After the rain ended, we took a bottle of wine to a slab of granite rock just beyond camp for a sundowner.

The news of his return spread quickly and several officials dropped in for a "sundowner."

He longed each night for the usual "sundowner," but had determined not to open his one remaining bottle, in case of accident.

Sundowner: (Historical) A swagman who arrives at a place too late for work, but looking for food and/or shelter.

It was no sundowner, not even a man from Boonara, out on the jag, who had wandered in a half-frenzied condition so many miles.

An old sundowner, chancing to pass along the road, stopped in the hopes of a yarn.

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