doggy bag
5
2.5
- noun
- /ˈdɔɡi bæɡ/
:
tupper
- Ask your friend for a doggy bag after you've paid the bill
- get a doggy bag
- restaurant doggy bags
Examples
-
Would you like a doggy bag?
-
Could you get them to put this in a doggy bag for me?
-
And I will bring you a doggy bag.
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Bring me back a doggy bag.
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Well, would you like a doggy bag?
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Could you put our bread in a doggy bag, please?
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Taking a doggy bag home with leftovers is quite acceptable.
Blog text (22) -
I know an amazing sushi place and the best part... ...when you're finished, they put your leftovers in a doggy bag.
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If you feel tempted from the start, request that your waiter bring a doggy bag so you can put half the meal in and set it aside for a future meal.
Blog text (2) -
Could you put our bread in a doggy bag, please?
Synonyms
∞
1.0
A flexible container for carrying personal things like books or clothes
13
2.5
A small plastic bag used to hold food or small items
9
3.0
A plastic bag with a seal you close to keep food or small items fresh
5
2.0
A bag a restaurant gives you to take home leftover food
A bag for carrying food used by travellers or workers
A bag for carrying food used by travellers or workers in Australia
Surface Forms
Morphology
doggy + bag
The sense 'a bag for taking home leftover food' is not transparently built from 'doggy' (which suggests something related to dogs or a diminutive) + 'bag' (container); a B1 learner would likely interpret it as a bag for a dog or a small bag rather than the restaurant leftovers sense. The restaurant-use meaning is a cultural/idiomatic extension and therefore unpredictable without prior exposure.
Etymology
Doggy bag comes from an old habit in restaurants. One popular story says customers who wanted to feed leftovers to their pet dog asked for a small bag, so restaurants wrapped the food to take home, and the phrase doggy bag came to mean 'to take home leftover food'.