# handbags at dawn

idiom

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/handbags-at-dawn
Updated: 2026-08-10

## Meaning

A catty squabble.

## Examples

- The meeting turned into handbags at dawn over a minor seating choice.
- The two coworkers started a petty argument about the coffee machine, which quickly turned into handbags at dawn.
- The neighbors are having another round of handbags at dawn because one of them left their recycling bin in the wrong spot again.
- What began as a professional disagreement regarding the project timeline soon devolved into handbags at dawn, much to the embarrassment of the entire department.

## Origin

First appears in the UK in the 1980s. A jocular derivation from pistols at dawn, replacing pistols with handbags, referring to women hitting each other with handbags during a catfight. The phrase originated in football. It may have been influenced by the phrase handbagging meaning a verbal dressing-down, in reference to the then-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher; and by the Monty Python sketch The Batley Townswomen's Guild Presents the Battle of Pearl Harbor (season 1, episode 11. The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Goes to the Bathroom, December 1969), in which the actors flail at each other with handbags in a muddy field. (disputed)

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.