We’re “Letting the Cat Out of the Bag” On These Handbag Expressions.

Sure your handbag is special, some of them are probably really really special.  Some of them probably are conversation starters.  But did you ever realize how much our handbags and bags are actually incorporated into our conversations?

Drawstring Lingerie Bag with Clothesline Pattern

A handbag is not just a pretty accessory, it’s been part of our existence since back in the day when men carried coin purses.  To hold the purse strings or to control the purse strings goes back to late middle English, when purses were closed by the purse strings.   The person who controls the strings, controls the money.  So, the next time you find yourself wondering, “I wonder who controls the purse strings in that family,” check out whose opening and closing the drawstring handbag.

While you might want to be the one controlling the finances in your relationship, you might not want to be the one left “holding the bag”.   According to the American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms, this phrase dates back to the 1600’s to “give one the bag.”   The one left “holding the bag” is the one left in the lurch, holding the empty bag, while the guilty parties have taken off with the valuable contents.  Of course, with the recent record breaking auctioning off of designer handbags, sometimes the one left holding the bag might be better off.

Canvas and Leather Messenger Bag

Sure, you’re impressed with my handbag history, you may even be asking yourself, what else does she have in her “bag of tricks”?  The origin of this bag phrase has been credited to Aesop, to the Brothers Grimm and to Lafontaine.  In all cases the story related to a cunning fox.  To have a bag of tricks is to have many resources and talents to turn to.

This travel handbag is literally a bag of tricks with features like RFID blocking, cut-proof straps and LED light.

Can you think of any handbag related expressions?  Join in the conversation.

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