snot rag

1 9.9

A rude word for a piece of cloth or paper used to wipe your nose

noun
/snɑt ræɡ/

Offensive

: trapo para limpiarse los mocos (despectivo)

Your dad loaned you his fucking snot-rag?

Examples

I assume you mean an external snot rag; I always carry one of those in my back pocket.

Blog text (16)
You should always have a clean snot rag handy during allergy season.
After blowing his nose, he reached for a old snot rag to clean up.
The child wiped his nose with a colorful snot rag before returning to play.

Synonyms

rag

vssnot rag

97 1.0

A small piece of old cloth used for cleaning

is used similarly but carries informal and derogatory nasal meaning

handkerchief

vssnot rag

90 2.2

A small square cloth for wiping your nose or face and for decoration

is the same use but expressed in an informal derogatory way

wipe

vssnot rag

35 1.0

A small piece of soft material used for cleaning skin or surfaces

is similar but refers specifically and insultingly to nasal wiping

washrag

vssnot rag

1 2.7

A small cloth used to wash the face or body

differs by being for washing rather than quick nasal wiping

pocket-handkerchief

vssnot rag

1 4.4

A small cloth kept in a pocket to wipe your nose or hands

is an informal derogatory term mainly for wiping nasal mucus

raggie

vssnot rag

9.6

A small piece of cloth used for cleaning

is the same object when referred to insultingly for nose wiping

facecloth

vssnot rag

1.0

A small soft cloth for washing your face

is aimed at cleaning, not at informal nasal wiping

Surface Forms

snot rag singular

snot rags plural

Morphology

snot + rag

The meaning is directly and literally compositional: a rag (cloth) used for snot (nasal mucus), so a learner who knows both words can readily infer the referent. Although the term is informal/derogatory in register, that pragmatic nuance does not prevent a B1 learner from understanding the basic meaning from the constituents.

Etymology

Snot rag comes from the simple image of a rough cloth (a rag) covered in snot after someone wipes their nose. Because it makes you think of a dirty, used cloth, the term is an informal, rude way to say 'a tissue or cloth for the nose'.