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Wag vs Sag - What's the difference?

wag | sag |

As verbs the difference between wag and sag

is that wag is to swing from side to side, especially of an animal's tail while sag is to sink, in the middle, by its weight or under applied pressure, below a horizontal line or plane.

As nouns the difference between wag and sag

is that wag is an oscillating movement while sag is the state of sinking or bending; sagging.

As an initialism SAG is

(on a letter), Saint Anthony Guard (or Guide).

As an acronym SAG is

screen Actors Guild.

wag

English

Verb

  • To swing from side to side, especially of an animal's tail
  • * Shakespeare
    • No discerner durst wag his tongue in censure.
  • * Bible, Jer. xviii. 16
    • Every one that passeth thereby shall be astonished, and wag his head.
  • (UK, Australia, slang) To play truant from school.
  • * 1848 , Charles Dickens, Dombey and Son, xxii
    • "My misfortunes all began in wagging,'' Sir; but what could I do, exceptin' ''wag''?" "Excepting what?" said Mr. Carker. "''Wag,'' Sir. ''Wagging'' from school." "Do you mean pretending to go there, and not going?" said Mr. Carker. "Yes, Sir, that's ''wagging, Sir."
  • * 1901 , William Sylvester Walker, In the Blood, i. 13
    • They had "wagged it" from school, as they termed it, which..meant truancy in all its forms.
  • (obsolete) To be in action or motion; to move; to get along; to progress; to stir.
  • * Shakespeare
    • "Thus we may see," quoth he, "how the world wags ."
  • (obsolete) To go; to depart.
  • * Shakespeare
    • I will provoke him to 't, or let him wag .

    Derived terms

    * (to not go to school) play the wag; hop the wag; wag it * to finger-wag

    See also

    * waggle (frequentative) * wiggle

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • An oscillating movement.
    • The wag of my dog's tail expresses happiness.
  • A witty person.

    • See also

    * skivitis

    References

    * The Oxford English Dictionary, (1989) Accessed 23 Feb. 2006. * Jonathon Green, "wag," The Cassell Dictionary of Slang, (1998) p. 1257.

    Anagrams

    * ----

    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

    * ----