From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishcadgecadge /kædʒ/ verb [intransitive, transitive] ASK FOR something/ASK somebody TO DO something British English informal to ask someone you know for something such as food, money, or cigarettes, because you do not have any or do not want to paycadge something from/off somebody I cadged a lift from Joanna.→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
cadge• Never had enough money, was always cadging.• Amiss had an almost overwhelming desire to cadge a cigarette in order to demonstrate solidarity, but he repressed it.• Any excuse to cadge a drink.• Is anybody else thinking of going, especially from the Leeds area so I can cadge a lift.• He cadged fivers off various old school friends and workmates to tide him over until he could get to the bank.• The two boys moved around the bar, cadging free drinks and cigarettes.• I used to hang around there on weekends, cadging handouts and running errands and hustling cabs for the swells.• Sonia is always cadging lifts home and she never offers any money for petrol.• Poverty hounded the bishop, so he borrowed and cadged like a Franciscan beggar of old.• Well, the only thing Mike ever cadged was cigarettes.Origin cadge (1600-1700) Scottish English cadger “carrier, trader” ((15-19 centuries)), from cadge “to tie” ((14-19 centuries)) 