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to cadge

to cadge

1 9.8
To ask someone for something and get it without paying
  • verb
  • /kædʒ/
  • Informal
translation icon : pedir
  • He always tries to cadge a free lunch when we go out to eat.
  • cadge drinks
  • cadge a cigarette
  • cadge money

Examples

  • Trying to cadge drinks and lure men home.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • Maybe she should have cadged another wool blanket; her bedspread wasn't very heavy, and Tina always wanted the windows open at night.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • We'll cadge a drink off him.

  • I was too disappointed to go to the highway and cadge a lift.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • Now, he can cadge cigarettes and food from you without guilt.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • They'd come in to cadge a drink or a meal off a sister.

  • Let's get back to Fort, and I'll cadge a replacement from the Weyrlingmaster.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • Most of the time when I came in, he was flirting with a nurse, playing the pitiful invalid to cadge a cigarette or a smile.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • She managed to cadge some spare change from her friends.

  • It's not polite to cadge things without offering something in return.

Synonyms

to solicit
vsto cadge
  • Formal
48 6.8

To ask people for something, often in a formal or persistent way

involves asking but lacks the sense of getting without paying
to mooch
vsto cadge
  • Informal
12 8.5

To ask others for food, money, or help and not pay for it

is similar but can be used more neutrally for one requests
to scrounge
vsto cadge
  • Informal
4 7.0

To get things by asking others without giving anything in return

is the same idea described by the headword in this entry
to sponge
vsto cadge
  • Informal
2 7.9

To get money, food, or help from others while giving nothing back

shares freeloading sense but can apply to single requests
to bum
vsto cadge
  • Informal
1 7.5

To get something free by asking someone

is more general and not limited to casual or friendly asks
to grub
vsto cadge
  • UK
1 8.5

To ask for and take food or money from others without paying

matches getting without paying but is less hostile in tone
to shnorr
vsto cadge
  • Slang
9.9

To get things by asking people again and again, often without paying

is similar but does not stress persistent pleading
to schnorr
vsto cadge
  • Offensive
9.9

To get things like food or rides by asking others and not paying

is like that but focuses less on formal begging

Antonyms

1.0

To give money for something you buy or owe

760 1.8

To buy something by paying money

How Persistent

to beg
417 1.0
to cadge
  • Informal
1 9.8
to request
1.0
to ask
1.0

Surface Forms

cadge infinitive
cadged past
cadged past participle
cadging present participle
cadges third person singular

Etymology

Cadge probably comes from an old word for people who carried packs and asked for help, and over time it came to mean 'to get something by asking, usually without paying'.