handbag
/ˈhændˌbæɡ/ noun, verb
Forms handbags handbagging handbagged
- noun (now rare) A small bag carried in the hand, used either when travelling or to carry tools for a specific job.
- noun (chiefly Commonwealth) A small bag used chiefly by women for carrying various small personal items, sometimes considered as a fashion accessory.
- verb (UK, transitive, idiomatic, humorous, metonymic) To attack verbally or subject to criticism (typically used of a woman).
Synonyms
Etymology
From hand + bag. The music genre is named from women dancing around a pile of their handbags in nightclubs. The verb is a reference to Margaret Thatcher's handbag.
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 — from the Wiktionary entry “handbag”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details