wag
wag — verb
- wagpresent simple I / you / we / they
- wagshe / she / it
- waggedpast simple
- wagging-ing form
1. if an animal moves its tail, or a person moves a finger or head, from one side t
if an animal moves its tail, or a person moves a finger or head, from one side to the other in short repeated motions — usually to show feeling or to signal something
Indra's dog wagged its tail every time she came through the front door.
transitive: [animal] wags [tail]
Grandpa Vikram wagged his finger at the boys for sneaking biscuits before dinner.
collocation: wag a/one's finger at someone (mild scolding)
The puppy's tail wagged so hard that its whole body shook from side to side.
Feng slowly wagged her head while reading the email from her landlord.
The horse stood in the field, wagging its tail to keep the flies away.
文法句型
wag + body part
[body part] wags
用法筆記
Subject is almost always an animal's tail, or a person's finger / head. Other body parts do not wag in normal use — a person does not 'wag' an arm or a leg.
常見錯誤
2. to deliberately skip a day or lesson at school when your parents and teachers ex
to deliberately skip a day or lesson at school when your parents and teachers expect you to be there
Christopher used to wag school every Friday so he could go surfing at Bondi.
collocation: wag school + [reason for skipping]
Aylin's mother caught her wagging maths class to hang out at the shopping centre.
wag [subject/class] + reason of where the student went instead
Three Year 10 boys were suspended for wagging the whole afternoon last Thursday.
Ada had never wagged a single lesson in seven years of high school.
- skip
neutral, used worldwide; 'skip school' is the most common everyday phrase
- skive
British informal; also used about adults skipping work, not only students
- play hooky
American informal; same meaning but only used by Americans
- attend
formal opposite — to be present at school as required
文法句型
wag school
wag class
用法筆記
Mainly Australian and New Zealand informal usage. British English usually says 'skive off' and American English 'play hooky' or 'skip school' in the same situation.
常見錯誤
wag — noun
- wagsingular
- wagsplural
1. one short motion of a tail, finger, or head from one side to the other and back
one short motion of a tail, finger, or head from one side to the other and back
The old retriever greeted Manuela with a slow wag of its tail.
collocation: a wag of [animal's] tail
Élise dismissed the rumour with a single wag of her finger.
with + a wag of [body part] (dismissing or warning)
Each wag of the puppy's tail sent water flying across the kitchen floor.
Ilan answered the question with a small wag of his head, meaning he was unsure.
文法句型
a wag of [body part]
with a wag of [body part]
用法筆記
Countable and almost always preceded by 'a' and followed by 'of + body part'. The bare noun 'wag' on its own (as in 'a tail's wag') is uncommon.
常見錯誤
2. an old-fashioned word for someone who is always making jokes and amusing others,
an old-fashioned word for someone who is always making jokes and amusing others, often in a clever or cheeky way
Uncle Ezra was the wag of the family — every dinner ended with everyone laughing.
the wag of [a group] — the regular joker
Some wag in the back row had drawn a moustache on the headmaster's photo.
some wag = an unnamed joker (typical fixed phrase)
Ramón fancied himself a bit of a wag at office parties, though his jokes rarely landed.
The captain was known throughout the regiment as a wag with a sharp tongue.
文法句型
a wag
be a wag
用法筆記
Dated and chiefly British. A learner is more likely to encounter 'joker', 'comedian', or 'clown' in modern speech — 'wag' in this sense appears mostly in older novels and journalistic flourishes.
常見錯誤
3. the wife or girlfriend of a famous professional sportsman, especially a top foot
the wife or girlfriend of a famous professional sportsman, especially a top footballer — usually used in the plural 'WAGs' and in tabloid-style writing
Ayana writes a weekly column about WAGs and their lives off the football pitch.
plural WAGs — usual form in tabloid writing
The hotel lobby was full of photographers waiting for the England WAGs to come down.
the [team / national-side] WAGs
Becoming a WAG had never been part of Zuri's plan until her engagement made the tabloids.
Magazines invented a whole WAG culture during the 2006 World Cup in Germany.
- footballer's wife
neutral descriptive phrase; lacks the tabloid edge of WAG
文法句型
the WAGs
a WAG
WAG culture
用法筆記
An acronym from 'Wives And Girlfriends', popularised by British tabloids during the 2006 World Cup. Almost always plural and almost always about footballers. Often capitalised (WAG / WAGs); some dictionaries treat it as a separate slang noun rather than a sense of 'wag'.