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hanging

n.
C1 Advanced US //ˈhæŋɡɪŋ// UK //hˈæŋɪŋ// hang·ing Slang

n. extremely unpleasant or disgusting. You use this to describe something that looks, smells, or tastes very bad.

n. extremely unpleasant, disgusting, or repulsive. Informal in register; frequently used in British English to describe food, smells, or physical states like a hangover.


SIMPLE

The food at that old café was absolutely hanging.

CONTEXTUAL

I had to leave the room because the smell of the old bins was hanging.

COMPLEX

After the party, the flat was in a hanging state, with spilled drinks and half-eaten food covering every available surface in the kitchen.

Synonyms
Etymology 1

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Etymology 2

From Middle English hangynge, honginge, equivalent to hang + -ing. Compare Old English hengen (“hanging”) and hōhing (“hanging”).

Usage

Typically used as a predicative adjective after a linking verb like 'be' or 'smell'.

Idioms1 entry

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