I need to bag out
Posted: May 15, 2026 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Australian slang, congruent conflation, expressions, humor, language, malaphors, mixed idioms, words 1 CommentA person texted: “I need to bag out of mah jongg this week”. This is a congruent conflation of “bag it” and “back out”, both meaning to cancel an ongoing activity. “Bag” and “back” sound similar so probably was the cause of the mixup. Interestingly, in Australia “bag out” means to criticize or insult someone in an unkind way. A big thanks to Susan Edwards for another great malaphor submission.
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