Seems people in these parts (California) say bagging on someone, i.e., subjecting them to criticism which may or may not be deserved. But I also seem to remember hearing
the phrase raggingon someone, meaning the same thing.
I think this was a long time ago, and ragging has now given way to bagging.
Anyone know the etymology of this colloquialism?
I thought “bagging” was to not show up for something that you said you would be at, or to cancel at the last minute - e.g., your friend was supposed to meet you at the party, but he “bagged” on you, so you were stuck there alone.
Ragging on someone is how you described it in your OP. At least, that’s how I’ve always heard these words used.
Must be a regional variation. Whereabouts do you live, MissBunny?
Where I live (Cent. NY) and where I grew up (Ohio), “ragging” on someone was giving them a hard time. “Bagging” is just capturing somthing (or someone).
Jman
I have heard that the term “ragging” on someone is taken from the irrational behaviour by some women during their period, wherin due to uncontrollable hormones they are likely to be argumentative, easily annoyed, and confrontational.
Since the slang for a period is to be “on the rag”, this makes sense, at least a little bit…
Therefore, “raggin’ on you” means a person is acting like they have PMS, either male or female alike.
My apologies if this was offensive to anyone.
Stupendous Man!
I’ve lived in TN, MD, and MN and never heard of “bagging on someone.”
Jman’s got it right. I’ve got it/him/her “in the bag.” The cute guy bagged the babe but never called her. I got a job bagging groceries. I was so proud of my niece I couldn’t help bragging on her. I screwed up so I deserved a little ragging.
You get the idea.
While I have not heard that “ragging on” comes from argumentative women, the idea did occur to me, so I did an etymology search. Apparently the phrase “to rag” was in use long before the phrase “on the rag” came into usage, and it’s roots are not entirely known. The speculation I’ve found expects the verb to be some form of loanword, where the word rag sounds similar to a word or words that mean ‘to scold’ or ‘to berate’.
In the UK, “ragging” can mean assorted pranks and high jinks among university students (as in the institution of Rag Week, which incorporates all that with some attempt at ch
arity fundraising), but can also be used transitively to mean badgering, bothering, or “roasting” someone, especially when a group does it. But that still doesn’t help with the origin. Both Partridge’s Dictionary of Historical Slang and my old Shorter Oxford suggest that the latter is older (early 18th century) than the former (later 19th century). As to where it comes from, it might be from an old use of “red rag” to mean the tongue, and by extension a tongue-lashing, or just the mediaeval use of “rag” as a verb to mean tearing something to pieces.
You can also “bag” on event, rather than a person - “I was going go see that movie last night, but I was really tired, so I bagged on it.”. Seems to me that I’ve heard that usage for years. I’ve also heard all the other usages for “bag” mentioned here, except as a synonym for “ragging”. “Bagging”, rather than “ragging” on someone IS a synonym for “bailing” on them.
I used to live in Southern California and can confirm SoP’s claim as to the usage of the word “bagging” in that part of the country. I never really thought about the etymology behind the usage but I’m now interested.
Maybe it’s implying the act of tea-bagging?
Commonly a display of affection 'round these parts…
Zombie-bagging would be more likely.