Meanings
- UKslangAn insignificant fight or argument.
2011, Daniel Sperling, Ant McPartlin: 'Pub scuffle was just handbags', Digital Spy "It was just a scuffle in a pub, a bit of… handbags. Nine times out of ten, people are nice to us."
- pluralplural of handbag
- UKslangSaid jocularly in response to a particularly derogatory, bitchy or catty dialogue; calm down; cool it.
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5 more examples
Person A: Not another cheeseburger, Marcia?
Person B: What's it to you?
Person A: Well, you're fat enough as it is.
Person B: You can talk!
Person C: Ooh - handbags ladies!
Synonyms: meow
- indicativepresentsingularthird personthird-person singular simple present indicative of handbag
Synonyms & antonyms
interjectionSaid jocularly in response to a particularly derogatory, bitchy or catty dialogue; calm down; cool it.
Origin
From handbag + -s. In the sense of fight, a clipping of handbags at dawn or handbags at ten paces (1980s).
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
handbags. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/handbags
“handbags.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/handbags. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “handbags,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/handbags.
Source: handbags on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.