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handbags at dawn

A catty squabble.

Etymology:

  • 1980s UK. Jocular derivation of pistols at dawn, replacing pistols with handbags, referring to women hitting each other with handbags during a catfight. The phrase originated in football, and was possibly influenced by good handbagging, in reference to the then-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher; and the Monty Python skit “The Batley Townswomens' Guild presents the Battle of Pearl Harbor”, in which the actors flail at each other with handbags.
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Submitted on September 01, 2009

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Handtaschen im Morgengrauen

bolsos al amanecer

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    "handbags at dawn." Phrases.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 14 Nov. 2024. <https://www.phrases.com/phrase/handbags-at-dawn_4250>.

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