handbag
to severely criticise someone
TRANSLATION
handbag = (fig.) jmd. an den Pranger stellen handbag = (wörtlich) jmd. mit der Handtasche schlagen --- GOOGLE INDEX handbag: approximately 50,000 Google hits
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
'What a question! I support sterling because it is better. As a broadcaster you should know that.' said Thatcher. A short time afterwards she was advised to give up public speaking, Mr Hayes says it was the last ever public "Maggie HANDBAGGING"
BBC News
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I wonder, however, whether others will feel HANDBAGGED by his rhetoric.
(from an Internet blog)
BBC News
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I wonder, however, whether others will feel HANDBAGGED by his rhetoric.
(from an Internet blog)
Did you
know?
handbag
verb
- verbally attack or crush (a person or idea) ruthlessly and forcefully
(Oxford Dictionaries)
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According to the Oxford Dictionary, the verb "to handbag" was first recorded in a 1982 edition of the Economist: "One of her less relevant backbenchers said of Mrs Thatcher recently that 'she can't look at a British institution without hitting it with her handbag.’ Treasury figures published last week show how good she has proved at handbagging the Civil Service."
The "less relevant backbencher" (backbencher is a member of the UK parliament who does not have any official position in the government or in one of the opposing parties) was supposedly Julian Critchley. It’s not known if Mr. Critchley actually created the phrase, or if he picked it up from one of his fellow backbenchers. In any case, the verb form of handbag was clearly a reference to Mrs. Thatcher’s reputation for being tough; she was affectionately called the Iron Lady.
It’s interesting to note that a couple of other "bags" have been transformed from nouns into verbs, including:
- sandbag = (noun) a bag filled with sand, used as a defence against floods, explosions, etc or (verb) to downplay or misrepresent one's ability in order to deceive someone, especially in gambling.
- carpetbag = (noun) a travelling bag made of carpet fabric that was used chiefly in the United States during the 19th century or (verb) to act as an outsider to politically manipulate someone or something.
Lastly, we have the so-called Gladstone bag, a small portmanteau suitcase that you can separate into two equal sections, and which was named after William Ewart Gladstone (1809–1898), the four-time Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. We have to yet to find any examples of where it was used a verb however.
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SYNONYMS
criticize, chastise, excoriate, lambaste, rip, slam, reprimand, condemn, castigate, dress down
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SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"You’ll get handbagged if you don’t finish that project by the end of the week."
verb
- verbally attack or crush (a person or idea) ruthlessly and forcefully
(Oxford Dictionaries)
---
According to the Oxford Dictionary, the verb "to handbag" was first recorded in a 1982 edition of the Economist: "One of her less relevant backbenchers said of Mrs Thatcher recently that 'she can't look at a British institution without hitting it with her handbag.’ Treasury figures published last week show how good she has proved at handbagging the Civil Service."
The "less relevant backbencher" (backbencher is a member of the UK parliament who does not have any official position in the government or in one of the opposing parties) was supposedly Julian Critchley. It’s not known if Mr. Critchley actually created the phrase, or if he picked it up from one of his fellow backbenchers. In any case, the verb form of handbag was clearly a reference to Mrs. Thatcher’s reputation for being tough; she was affectionately called the Iron Lady.
It’s interesting to note that a couple of other "bags" have been transformed from nouns into verbs, including:
- sandbag = (noun) a bag filled with sand, used as a defence against floods, explosions, etc or (verb) to downplay or misrepresent one's ability in order to deceive someone, especially in gambling.
- carpetbag = (noun) a travelling bag made of carpet fabric that was used chiefly in the United States during the 19th century or (verb) to act as an outsider to politically manipulate someone or something.
Lastly, we have the so-called Gladstone bag, a small portmanteau suitcase that you can separate into two equal sections, and which was named after William Ewart Gladstone (1809–1898), the four-time Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. We have to yet to find any examples of where it was used a verb however.
---
SYNONYMS
criticize, chastise, excoriate, lambaste, rip, slam, reprimand, condemn, castigate, dress down
---
SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"You’ll get handbagged if you don’t finish that project by the end of the week."
