Word.ws English Dictionary

kitbag question

/ˈkɪtbæɡ ˈkwɛstʃən/

kitbag question noun: a question which causes a disadvantage to the asker and third parties simply by virtue of being asked.

Noun

kitbag question (plural kitbag questions)

  1. (humorous) A question which causes a disadvantage to the asker and third parties simply by virtue of being asked.
    • I think the original question was a stupid one in the first place. What we in army used to call a "kit-bag question"1996 January 21, Vernon Everett, “copywrited kenders”, in rec.games.frp.dnd (Usenet)
    • Find me something assur, and if I want an exception made, I'll ask a shayla. Find me something ambiguous, and if I want clarification made, I'll ask a shayla. I'm not about to go around asking kitbag questions.2002 January 13, Lisa, “Homosexuality unnatural? Was Re: Taliban-like extremists”, in soc.culture.jewish.moderated (Usenet)

Forms of kitbag question

pluralkitbag questions

Origin of kitbag question

Calque of Hebrew שְׁאֵלַת קִיטְבֶּג (she'elat kitbeg). An apocryphal tale of the term's origin involves a squad of soldiers in the Israeli Army: A commander tells the soldiers, "We're going on a 5 mile run". And some dip asks, "Do we have to bring our kitbags?" At which point, the answer is yes. It wouldn't have been if the soldier hadn't asked the question. The story is retold with some variation, but always involving a commander telling a subordinate soldier to run with his kitbag.

Questions about kitbag question

What does kitbag question mean?
Kitbag question means a question which causes a disadvantage to the asker and third parties simply by virtue of being asked.
What part of speech is kitbag question?
Kitbag question is a noun.
How do you pronounce kitbag question?
Kitbag question is pronounced /ˈkɪtbæɡ ˈkwɛstʃən/.
What is the plural of kitbag question?
The plural of kitbag question is kitbag questions.

Words near kitbag question in the dictionary

  1. Kitassato flask
  2. Kitassato flasks
  3. Kitazato flask
  4. Kitazato flasks
  5. kitbag
  6. kitbag question
  7. kitbag questions
  8. kitbags
  9. kitbash
  10. kitbashed
  11. kitbasher

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: kitbag question (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-kitbag question.wav, LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-kitbag question.wav.

Cite this entry: “kitbag question.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/kitbag_question. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.