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Bag and Baggage

Posted on the 14 April 2023 by Idioms

Meaning

  • (with) all one's belongings.
  • with all their goods.
  • to completely depart with all their possessions.
  • with everything one possesses.

Example Sentences

  1. She moved to a new city, leaving all her "bag and baggage" behind her.
  2. He was asked to leave the team, so he obliged, taking his bag and baggage with him.
  3. When he decided to quit his job, he packed up all his "bag and baggage" and never looked back.
  4. Tired of their tantrums, the landlady asked her tenants to vacate the house bag and baggage, within a week.

Origin

The phrase " bag and baggage " dates back to the 16th century, when soldiers went off to fight, hauling all of their belongings (including military equipment) in bags. Nowadays, it's used to describe someone who leaves a place swiftly and takes everything with them-nothing is left behind! Today, the phrase "bag and baggage" is frequently utilized as a metaphor for someone who has been asked to leave or withdraw from an area of work. It often follows a scenario in which somebody is compelled to move away abruptly, indicating that all things connected with them were taken at once, leaving nothing behind. Thusly, this figure of speech symbolizes an absolute departure from any given place or circumstance.

For ages, this phrase has been employed in many different contexts to denote the complete removal of something. Over time, its use spread to other circumstances where something is removed utterly. As an example, the idiom "bag and baggage" can be used when referring to somebody who quits their job or post with no plan on returning back in the future. Additionally, it may also be utilized to refer someone leaving home permanently while carrying all their possessions along with them.


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