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Synonyms

grab bag

American  

noun

  1. a container or receptacle from which a person at a party or the like draws a gift without knowing what it is.

  2. any miscellaneous collection.

grab bag British  

noun

  1. a collection of miscellaneous things

  2. a bag or other container from which gifts are drawn at random

"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
grab bag Idioms  

  1. A miscellaneous collection, as in The meeting amounted to a grab bag of petty complaints. This term alludes to a container offered at a party or fair, where one dips in for a party favor or prize without knowing what one will get. [Mid-1800s]

Etymology

Origin of grab bag

An Americanism dating back to 1850–55

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

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.