the handbags came out
- idiom
- UK
- It was all polite until the handbags came out at the last committee meeting.
Examples
-
The interview was going smoothly, but the handbags came out when they mentioned the budget cuts.
-
As soon as the team lost, the handbags came out among the fans.
-
When Sarah and Emily started arguing, I knew the handbags came out.
-
Oh no, the handbags came out during their debate!
-
The meeting started off calmly, but soon the handbags came out when the topic of budget cuts was raised.
-
During the discussion about the project timeline, it became clear that the handbags came out as tensions rose.
-
What began as a friendly conversation quickly escalated, and that's when the handbags came out over differing opinions.
Synonyms
1
9.8
A small, silly argument where people make a big show about a minor issue
A sudden strong argument that ends a relationship or situation
Antonyms
How Heated
- Informal
1
8.6
61
4.6
- UK
687
2.3
231
1.6
Surface Forms
Morphology
The literal parts 'handbag' + 'came out' do convey the image of people producing or brandishing handbags, so a learner might guess some physical action or escalation. However, the conventionalized, culture-specific sense that a disagreement has escalated into a petty or dramatic fight is a metaphorical/pragmatic extension not fully predictable from the constituents, so a B1 learner who only knows the words would likely need prior exposure to grasp the intended idiomatic meaning.
Etymology
The handbags came out comes from the image of people pulling their handbags into their hands during an argument as if to use them as small weapons, a picture of a petty, public fight. That's why the phrase means 'a disagreement escalated' or 'things got personal'.