mixed bag

American  

noun

Informal.

1. an often unexpected assortment of various things, people, or ideas.

   The concert was a mixed bag of works from three centuries.

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mixed bag British  

noun

1. informal something composed of diverse elements, characteristics, people, etc

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mixed bag Idioms  

1. A heterogeneous collection of people, items, activities, or the like; an assortment. For example, The school offers a mixed bag of after-school activities—team sports, band practice, a language class. This idiom calls up the image of a sack full of different items. [First half of 1900s]

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Etymology

Origin of mixed bag

First recorded in 1935–40

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

mixed bag

Saka's Arsenal team-mate Madueke produced a mixed bag of a performance on the right against Costa Rica.

From BBC ● Jun. 11, 2026

One key takeaway from the nearly completed first-quarter earnings season is that companies catering to well-heeled shoppers have done well, while the rest are a bit of a mixed bag.

From Barron's ● Jun. 8, 2026

Super Micro Computer’s fiscal third-quarter earnings were a mixed bag, but the company delivered the above-consensus earnings and margins that investors were looking for.

From MarketWatch ● May 5, 2026

So-called ‘Wild Wednesday’ was a mixed bag as a quartet of technology giants reported earnings.

From Barron's ● Apr. 30, 2026

Naturally, in a mixed bag such as this, one can't complain if the quality of the contents varies.

From Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 153, October 24, 1917 by Various