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Snag vs Sag - What's the difference?

snag | sag |

As a noun snag

is a stump or base of a branch that has been lopped off; a short branch, or a sharp or rough branch; a knot; a protuberance or snag can be (uk|dialect|obsolete) a light meal or snag can be a misnaged, an opponent to chassidic judaism (more likely modern, for cultural reasons).

As a verb snag

is to catch or tear (eg fabric) upon a rough surface or projection.

As an initialism sag is

(on a letter), saint anthony guard (or guide).

As an acronym sag is

screen actors guild.

snag

English

Etymology 1

From (etyl) .

Noun

(en noun)
  • A stump or base of a branch that has been lopped off; a short branch, or a sharp or rough branch; a knot; a protuberance.
  • * Dryden
    • The coat of arms / Now on a naked snag in triumph borne.
  • Any sharp protuberant part of an object, which may catch, scratch, or tear other objects brought into contact with it.
  • A tooth projecting beyond the rest; a broken or decayed tooth.
    • (Prior)
  • A tree, or a branch of a tree, fixed in the bottom of a river or other navigable water, and rising nearly or quite to the surface, by which boats are sometimes pierced and sunk.
  • (figuratively) A problem or difficulty with something.
  • *
  • A pulled thread or yarn, as in cloth.
  • One of the secondary branches of an antler.
    • Synonyms
    * (problem or difficulty) hitch
    Derived terms
    * snaggy * snaglike

    Verb

    (snagg)
  • To catch or tear (e.g. fabric) upon a rough surface or projection.
    • Be careful not to snag your stockings on that concrete bench!
  • (fishing) To fish by means of dragging a large hook or hooks on a line, intending to impale the body (rather than the mouth) of the target.
    • We snagged for spoonbill from the eastern shore of the Mississippi river.
  • (slang) To obtain or pick up (something).
    • Ella snagged a bottle of water from the fridge before leaving for her jog.
  • (UK, dialect) To cut the snags or branches from, as the stem of a tree; to hew roughly.
    • (Halliwell)

    Etymology 2

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (UK, dialect, obsolete) A light meal.
  • (Australia, informal, colloquial) A sausage.
  • * 2005 , Peter Docker, Someone Else?s Country , 2010, ReadHowYouWant, page 116,
    • I fire up the barbie and start cooking snags .
  • * 2007 , Jim Ford, Don't Worry, Be Happy: Beijing to Bombay with a Backpack , page 196,
    • ‘You can get the chooks and snags from the fridge if you want,’ he replied.
    I smiled, remembering my bewilderment upon receiving exactly the same command at my very first barbecue back in Sydney a month after I?d first arrived.
  • * 2010 , Fiona Wallace, Sense and Celebrity , page 25,
    • ‘Hungry? We?ve got plenty of roo,’ one of the men said as she walked up. He pointed with his spatula, ‘and pig snags', cow ' snags , beef and chicken.’
    Synonyms
    * (sausage) banger (qualifier)

    Etymology 3

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A misnaged, an opponent to Chassidic Judaism (more likely modern, for cultural reasons).

    • Anagrams

    * (l) * (l) * (l) * (l) ----

    sag

    English

    Etymology 1

    From late (etyl) saggen, probably of Scandinavian/(etyl) origin (compare Norwegian ); probably akin to Danish and Norwegian sakke, Swedish sacka, Icelandic sakka, Old Norse sokkva. Compare also Low German sacken, Dutch zakken.

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • The state of sinking or bending; sagging.
  • The difference in elevation of a wire, cable, chain or rope suspended between two consecutive points.
  • The difference height or depth between the vertex and the rim of a curved surface, specifically used for optical elements such as a mirror or lens.

    • Verb

    (sagg)
  • To sink, in the middle, by its weight or under applied pressure, below a horizontal line or plane.
    • A line or cable supported by its ends sags , even if it is tightly drawn.
    The floor of a room sags .
  • To lean, give way, or settle from a vertical position.
    • A building may sag one way or another.
    The door sags on its hinges.
  • (figuratively) To lose firmness, elasticity, vigor, or a thriving state; to sink; to droop; to flag; to bend; to yield, as the mind or spirits, under the pressure of care, trouble, doubt, or the like; to be unsettled or unbalanced.
  • * Shakespeare
    • The mind I sway by, and the heart I bear, / Shall never sag with doubt nor shake with fear.
  • To loiter in walking; to idle along; to drag or droop heavily.
  • To cause to bend or give way; to load.
  • (informal) To wear one's trousers so that their top is well below the waist.
    • Quotations
    * (English Citations of "sag")

    Etymology 2

    Noun

    (-)
  • * 2003 , Charles Campion, The Rough Guide to London Restaurants (page 173)
    • The dal tarka (£5) is made from whole yellow split peas, while sag aloo (£5) brings potatoes in a rich and oily spinach puree.

    Anagrams

    * ----