Is "fleabag" as a derogatory term for an unpleasantly dirty person a Britishism?
Solution 1:
According GDoS the term fleabag has a military origin and its earliest usage instances are Irish:
- (orig. milit., also flea-park) a sleeping bag or bed; a bedroll, a mattress.
- c.1790 [Ire] ‘De May-Bush’ in Walsh Ireland Ninety Years Ago (1885) 91: Bill Durham [...] Was now in his flea-park, taking a snore Fearing every moment the arrival of the real Simon Pure should cover me with shame and disgrace.
- 1839 [Ire] C.J. Lever Harry Lorrequer 266: ‘I think the gentleman would be better if he went off to his flea-bag himself.’ In my then mystified intellect this west country synonym for a bed a little puzzled me.
The related meaning of “a cheap hotel or lodging house” appears to have developed mainly in the US.
- 1931 [US] D. Runyon ‘Broadway Financier’ in Runyon on Broadway (1954) 204: I will be living at home with her instead of in a flea bag in Forty-seventh Street.
- 1946 [US] Mezzrow & Wolfe Really the Blues 177: We all laid around that fleabag-with-room-service for a couple of gripy weeks.
- 2003 - [US] N. Green Angel of Montague Street (2004) 3: There was still a lot of old fleabags like the Hotel Montague.
From that the term was used to refer to an old dog:
- 1977 [US] S. Stallone Paradise Alley (1978) 28: ‘There ain’t no reason to call Bella a fleabag.’ ‘Hey Vic, that mutt’s got no class.’.
or a trump, a vagrant:
- 2001 OnLine Dict. of Playground Sl. [Internet] fleabag n. derog. smelly person dressed in Oxfam style dress, possibly wearing Tesco trainers, possibly having fleas too.