Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. (also dosser-out) a tramp, a vagrant, a homeless person.

1865		Leaves from Diary of Celebrated Burglar 109/1: Most of the ‘dossers’ were transient customers, people who were always on the move.
1883		G.R. Sims How the Poor Live 43: A ’appy dosser can make himself comfortable anywhere. I heard of one who used to crawl into the dust-bin, and pull the lid down.
1889		Dead Bird (Sydney) 9 Nov. 2/1: First Domain dosser (crying piteously): ‘A man caught me and set me to work’.
1893		H. Lawson ‘“Dossing Out” and “Camping”’ in Roderick (1972) 164: God watches the ‘dossers-out’, too, in the city, but He doesn’t keep them from being moved on. [...] When the wretched ‘dosser’ rises in the morning, he cannot shoulder his swag and take the track.
1899		J. Flynt Tramping with Tramps 119: The next higher type of the town tramp is the ‘two-cent dosser’ – the man who lives in stale-beer shops.
1906		G.R. Sims Mysteries of Modern London 183: There is a certain etiquette even among the ’appy dossers.
1907		Sun. Times (Perth) 20 Oct. 1/1: The substitute incontinently ejects all who dare to lie on the grass [but] the same old indecently-frowsy male dossers are still in abundance.
1912		Bulletin (Sydney) 12 Sept. 17/1: A wealthy resident [...] bequeathed his possessions to the unwashed, the dosser, the loafer, the sleeper-out and the chicken-snatcher.
1933		Townsville Daily Bulletin 3 Aug. 5/1: ‘Dosser’ Doyle was a swagman [...] Mate to the ‘bum’ and the bagman.
1936		J. Curtis Gilt Kid 202: Some of them blokes is dossers what has just hit the Smoke.
1963		L.F. Freed Crime in S. Afr. 90: Many of the dossers brought their own sheets and blankets, which consisted of old newspapers.
1981		T. Wilkinson Down and Out 49: At the far end of the seat a dosser was lying in a sleeping-bag.
1984		Benjamin & Pearl Limericks Down Under 79: But he did know his wine / When they asked him to dine - / A welcome free loader and dosser.
1989		(con. 1950s–60s) in G. Tremlett Little Legs 61: We’d have all the dossers and layabouts running about.
1998		A. Warner Sopranos 212: Fuckin dosser.
1999		N. Cohn Yes We Have No 356: It’s dossers like us, pathetic alky misfits, who are ruining the West End.
2000		Guardian Rev. 4 Feb. 19: Tales of dossers and street lunatics.
2013		K. Sampson Killing Pool 28: His raggle-raggle commune of addicts and dossers.

2. the head of a household [he is the person who pays for/provides the place to sleep].

1937–84

Partridge DSUE (1984) 333/1: from ca. 1885; ob.

3. (Aus.) a general insult.

1901

Sydney Sportsman (Surry Hills, NSW) 6 Feb. 4/1: The dark doings of the dirty dossers that prostitute sport by their pernicious presence.

4. someone who exists without working.

2001		G. Coughlan Everyday Eng. and Sl. 🌐 Dosser (n): layabout, useless.
2004		J. McCourt ‘Vilja de Tanquay Exults’ in Queer Street 301: Some dosser’s done a book on that as well.