handbag

Etymology

From hand + bag. The music genre is named from women dancing around a pile of their handbags in nightclubs. The verb is a reference to Margaret Thatcher's handbag.

noun

1. (now rare) A small bag carried in the hand, used either when travelling or to carry tools for a specific job.
   I put on my new suit and put my watch on and packed the other suit and the accessories and my razor and brushes in my hand bag […]. 1929, William Faulkner, The Sound and the Fury
2. (chiefly Commonwealth) A small bag used chiefly by women for carrying various small personal items, sometimes considered as a fashion accessory.
3. (uncountable, music) Ellipsis of handbag house.

verb

1. (Britain, transitive, humorous) To attack verbally or subject to criticism (typically used of a woman).
   ‘Apparently Birt happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time on Sunday afternoon. Virginia saw him and handbagged him. She really was very cross.’ 1995, Nicholas Jones, Soundbites and Spin Doctors, London: Cassell, page 202
   My favourite part of the whole day was being handbagged by a reader who was quivering with rage and said, ‘You've changed everything!’ and complained about everything, even how easy the crossword was, as Dower filmed every foam-flecked word. 2010, Rachel Johnson, A Diary of the Lady, London: Fig Tree, page 168