wag
(intransitive, mostly, obsolete) To go; to proceed; to move; to progress.
Definitions
(intransitive, mostly, obsolete) To go; to proceed; to move; to progress.
Comments
(ambitransitive) To swing from side to side, as an animal's tail, or someone's head to express disagreement or disbelief.
"wag" means: To swing from side to side, as an animal's tail, or someone's head to express disagreement or disbelief.. This is a fairly neutral word with no inherent risk attached. There is no real cause for parental concern; it is descriptive vocabulary rather than something dangerous. If your child uses it, context will usually make the meaning clear. A brief, curious question about where they heard it is generally enough to know whether to follow up.
"wag" means: To swing from side to side, as an animal's tail, or someone's head to express disagreement or disbelief.. Register: neutral, standard English, usable in most everyday contexts. A common non-native mistake is to use the word in the wrong register, or to assume one fixed meaning when it is actually polysemous; always check the surrounding register and the audience before producing it yourself. In formal writing, prefer a neutral synonym or a short descriptive phrase, and use this word only when you have heard or read it being used naturally in a comparable context.
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(UK, Australia, New Zealand, slang) To play truant from school.
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- hop the wag66%
(idiomatic, UK, slang, dated) To play truant .
- hop the wag66%
A dated British slang phrase meaning to play truant — to skip school without permission and spend the day doing something more entertaining instead. 'Hopping the wag' was the kind of thing that got you a caning in the Victorian and Edwardian eras if you were caught. 'Wag' here is short for 'wagging it' (playing hooky), a sense still alive in British school slang, even if this fuller phrase has fallen out of regular use. The image is of jumping over or off the obligation.
- play the wag65%
(idiomatic, UK, slang, dated) To play truant .