handbags

British

/ ˈhændˌbæɡz /

plural noun

facetious an incident in which people, esp sportsmen, fight or threaten to fight, but without real intent to inflict harm (esp in the phrases handbags at dawn, handbags at twenty paces, etc)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

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handbags

Its Birkin handbags continue to sell at a premium to retail prices in the second hand market.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026

"Every now and then the authorities launch anti-counterfeit raids, but they usually focus on higher-value items such as luxury handbags or suitcases," she explains.

From BBC ● Jul. 5, 2026

Displayed alongside them is a cornucopia of other fakes: "Chanel" handbags, "Prada" t-shirts and "Rolex" watches lining the racks.

From BBC ● Jul. 5, 2026

It since has expanded into categories including denim, footwear, handbags and swim.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 18, 2026

Even the lonely four-toothed widower who repaired our handbags in the market could not be persuaded to propose.

From "Interpreter of Maladies" by Jhumpa Lahiri

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023