wag1
/waɡ
/- Then I come back, and the tails wag so hard that it begins with the middle of their dog bodies.
- Apparently tails are wagging over the show, as it has been renewed for another season.
- The climbers soon ski up to us, red plastic sleds wagging like tails behind them.
Synonyms
- The others looked at him, and he raised one hand to wag an index finger under Kaeritha's nose.
- Instead wag a disapproving finger at the bull run in commodities.
- Siya pretended to be disappointed and wagged her finger at Mel.
Synonyms
- She looked up at him sadly, acknowledging his gesture with a half wag of her tail.
- No matter how many Chechens may be slaughtered, we content ourselves with a polite wag of the finger, shrug our shoulders, then concede that massacre is an internal matter.
- But the crowning glory is when the pointer turns around and gives an approving look and tail wag before he trots off to pick up another bird.
Synonyms
Phrases
how the world wags
the tail wags the dog
tongues wag
Origin
Middle English (as a verb): from the Germanic base of Old English wagian 'to sway'.
The sort of wagging done by dogs is from the Old English word wagian ‘to sway’, source also of waggle (late 16th century). Wangle (late 19th century) is first recorded as printers' slang. The origin is unknown but is perhaps based on waggle. Wag meaning ‘a joker’ is a different word, dating from the 16th century, which first meant ‘a mischievous boy or lively young man’, and was often used as a fond name for a child. Showing the grim gallows humour of the times, it probably comes from waghalter, ‘a person likely to be hanged’. In the 2006 World Cup a new meaning of wag suddenly became popular. The WAGs were the Wives and Girlfriends of the England players. The term had already been used in the 2004 European Championship.
Rhymes
wag2
/waɡ/- Janey was sure that it was a joke by the wags in the Forensics labs - well reasonably sure.
- At one point a wag from the crowd shouted ‘Is there a footballer in the house?’
- Some wags joked that the ‘9 on Nine’ panel looked like some sort of reality television show.
- The next day, after another sleepless night of coughing, we both decided to wag work and uni.
- Children wagged school and chased each other through the flooded streets, while their parents headed to the centre of town to see the damage.
Origin
Mid 16th century (denoting a young man or mischievous boy, also used as a term of endearment to an infant): probably from obsolete waghalter 'person likely to be hanged' (see wag1, halter1). The verb dates from the late 20th century.
WAG3
/waɡ/Origin
Early 21st century: from the acronym WAGs 'wives and girlfriends'.
WAG4
Origin
From West Africa Gambia.