13-06-2017, 12:44 PM
A handbag, also bag or bag in North American English, is a medium-to-large handled bag that is often designed, often worn by women, to hold personal items. The term "purse" originally referred to a small purse for holding coins in British English, it is still used to refer to a small coin purse. A "bag" is a larger accessory that has objects beyond the coin, such as personal items. American English typically uses the terms bag and bag interchangeably. The term bag began to appear in the early 1900s. Initially, it was used more frequently to refer to men's hand luggage. Women's bags grew more and more complex during this period, and the term was attached to the accessory.
The verb "to handbag" is derived from the custom of the British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher to take pieces of paper from his bag in meetings and read aloud the comments he had written about them. The more general meaning of the verb "to treat cruelly" came to symbolize the whole Thatcher style of government. Julian Critchley, one of the greatest critics of the conservative backbone, once said: "Margaret Thatcher and her bag are the same as Winston Churchill and his cigar."