handbags

British

/ ˈhændˌbæɡz /

plural noun

facetious an incident in which people, esp sportsmen, fight or threaten to fight, but without real intent to inflict harm (esp in the phrases handbags at dawn, handbags at twenty paces, etc)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

But that novel was published in 1922, well before the dawn of websites and apps to rent everything from homes to handbags.

From The Wall Street Journal

Management has said they expect that figure to drop significantly in 2026, when factoring out last year’s acquisition of Kurt Geiger, which makes handbags, footwear and other accessories.

From MarketWatch

Economic shifts have helped so-called accessible luxury brands like Coach, which sell handbags and clothes at lower prices than designers like Prada and Chanel.

From The Wall Street Journal

On display are also make-up kits, sneakers, handbags and costume jewellery.

From BBC

Amazon has steadily grown as it funneled cash into its online business, adding new categories of goods, including high-ticket items such as luxury handbags and cars.

From The Wall Street Journal

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023