road agent
- noun
- /roʊd ˈeɪdʒənt/
- Archaic
:
bandido
- The notorious road agent ambushed the stagecoach late at night, stealing gold and valuables from the frightened passengers.
Examples
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During the 19th century, many road agents preyed on travelers along the dusty trails of the American West.
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And the passenger the road agent shot...
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We're takin' those road agents out to hang, Blaisedell.
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Because they've been declared guilty-as-sin road agents.
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There's so many road agents out, only yesterday I told my drivers not to resist a holdup.
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I know you ain't no road agent, Major, but you're here for something, something that might add up to troubIe for so much these foIks I care so much about.
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As Snag bathed in the creek, road agent Buck Stinson and his gang rode up to the Lemhi leaders.
Academic text (2000) -
He was known as a ruthless road agent who led a gang that terrorized anyone passing through the remote canyon.
Synonyms
4
9.9
A person on horseback who robbed travelers on roads
2
9.9
A person who attacks and robs travelers on roads
A robber who attacks travelers while walking, often in the past
A woman who robs people traveling on a road
How Violent
Surface Forms
Morphology
A B1 learner who knows 'road' (a way for travel) and 'agent' (an actor/representative) would not reliably infer the specialized, historical sense 'highway robber.' 'Agent' lacks any inherent criminal sense and the collocation is archaic/lexicalized, so the meaning cannot be predicted from the parts.
Etymology
The name road agent comes from the Old West, where someone would wait by the road to stop stagecoaches and rob travelers; the word agent just meant 'a person'. So road agent means 'a robber who attacks people on the road'.