different between blag vs blab

English

Etymology 1

Perhaps from French blague (“joke, tall story”), blaguer (“to joke”), from Old Occitan blagar (“to chat”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /blæ?/
• Rhymes: -æ?

Verb

blag (third-person singular simple present blags, present participle blagging, simple past and past participle blagged)

1. (Britain, informal, transitive) To obtain (something) for free, particularly by guile or persuasion.

   Synonyms: obtain, sponge; see also Thesaurus:scrounge

2. (Britain, informal, specifically) To obtain confidential information by impersonation or other deception.

   Synonym: pretext

3. (Polari) To pick up someone.
4. (Britain, informal, 1960s) To inveigle by persuasion.

5. (Britain, informal, 1940s) To deceive; to perpetrate a hoax on.

Translations

Noun

blag (plural blags)

1. (Britain, informal) A means of obtaining something by trick or deception.

2. (Britain criminal slang) An armed robbery.
   • 2014, Echo Freer, Diamond Geezers

     I know your old man's keen for you to learn the ropes an' all that, but let's not forget who's running this blag, shall we?

Adjective

blag (comparative more blag, superlative most blag)

1. (Britain, informal) Fake, not genuine.

   Synonym: fake

Derived terms

• blagger

Translations

Etymology 2

First attested in xkcd: "Mispronouncing".

Noun

blag (plural blags)

1. (humorous) Misspelling of blog. (Can we add an example for this sense?)

Etymology 3

Tagalog blag

Interjection

blag

1. (Philippines) An onomatopoeia for the sound of a falling strike. (Can we add an example for this sense?)

Further reading

• blag at The Septic's Companion: A British Slang Dictionary

References

Anagrams

• Glab

Antillean Creole

Etymology

From French blague.

Noun

blag

1. joke

German Low German

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bl??x/, /bl??x/ (more on the merger of monophthongal A and O)

Adjective

blag

1. Alternative spelling of blaag

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

From Proto-Slavic *bolg?.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /blâ??/

Adjective

bl?g (definite bl?g?, comparative bl?ž?, Cyrillic spelling ?????)

1. mild, gentle, soft
2. (intensifier, colloquial) any, damn, faintest

Declension

Related terms

• blagost

Derived terms

Further reading

• “blag” in Hrvatski jezi?ni portal

Slovene

Etymology

From Proto-Slavic *bolg?.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /blá?k/

Adjective

bl?g (comparative blážji or bl?žji, superlative n?jblážji or n?jbl?žji)

1. mild, gentle, soft

Further reading

• “blag”, in Slovarji Inštituta za slovenski jezik Frana Ramovša ZRC SAZU, portal Fran

English

Etymology

From Middle English blabben (“to talk foolishly”), perhaps from Middle English blabbe (“idle talk; talebearer”). Compare Middle English blaberen (“to blabber, babble”), Middle High German blabezen (“to stammer, babble”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /blæb/
• Rhymes: -æb

Verb

blab (third-person singular simple present blabs, present participle blabbing, simple past and past participle blabbed)

1. (transitive, intransitive) To tell tales; to gossip without reserve or discretion.

   • And yonder a vile physician blabbing / The case of his patient.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:prattle

Translations

Noun

blab (countable and uncountable, plural blabs)

1. (countable) One who blabs; a babbler; a telltale; a gossip or gossiper.
2. (uncountable) Gossip; prattle.
   • 1976, David Toulmin, Blown Seed (page 148)

     Audie never liked him because he was further in with old Craig than he was, bragging and blowing about his work and the things he could do, while Audie sat quiet as a mouse listening to his blab.

Synonyms

• (one who blabs): See also Thesaurus:chatterbox or Thesaurus:gossiper
• (gossip, prattle): See also Thesaurus:chatter or Thesaurus:gossip

Translations

Related terms

• blabber
• blabbermouth
• blabby
• blubber