Word.ws English Dictionary

three bags full, sir

UK/ˌθɹiː bæɡz ˈfʊl ˌsɜː//ˌθɹi bæɡz ˈfʊl ˌsɝ/

three bags full, sir phrase: intensifies a statement of agreement, indicating that the speaker is craven or obsequious.

Phrase (1)

three bags full, sir

  1. (often, sarcastic) Intensifies a statement of agreement, indicating that the speaker is craven or obsequious.
    • Because, if he speaks his truth, he may no longer have a job and so, instead of living his truth, he says: “Yes, Sir; of course, sir. Three bags full, Sir.” He gives his power away.2001, Barbel Mohr, translated by Heike Müller, “How Do I Learn to Listen to My Inner Voice?”, in The Cosmic Ordering Service, Charlottesville, Va.: Hampton Roads Publishing Company, Inc., →ISBN, page...
    • Some managers took 50% of the income, some even paid the artist nothing but a weekly salary, and still the majority of those artists said, yes sir, no sir and three bags full sir. To a great degree, Epstein changed all of that ...2004, Paul Charles, The Complete Guide to Playing Live: A Survival Guide to the Rock Circuit, Music Sales Group, →ISBN

Phrase (2) capitalized: three bags full, Sir

three bags full, Sir

  1. Alternative letter-case form of three bags full, sir.
    • Because, if he speaks his truth, he may no longer have a job and so, instead of living his truth, he says: “Yes, Sir; of course, sir. Three bags full, Sir.” He gives his power away.2001, Barbel Mohr, translated by Heike Müller, “How Do I Learn to Listen to My Inner Voice?”, in The Cosmic Ordering Service, Charlottesville, Va.: Hampton Roads Publishing Company, Inc., →ISBN, page...
    • ‘Two coffees,’ he told the girl politely, adding, ‘And some of these cake things I saw in the kitchen.’ / ‘Treacle oaties, Sir,’ the young girl said, bobbing. ‘Yes, thank you, Sir.’ / Harry caught Anna’s frown, but she waited until the door closed before venting her disapproval. / ‘Yes, Sir, no...2012, Liz Todd, Shame the Devil, London: Olympia Publishers, →ISBN, part 3, chapter 1, page 246

Forms of three bags full, sir

alternative formthree bags full, Sir

Origin of three bags full, sir

Referencing the nursery rhyme Baa, Baa, Black Sheep with the lyrics "Have you any wool? / Yes, sir, yes, sir, / Three bags full".

Questions about three bags full, sir

What does three bags full, sir mean?
Three bags full, sir means intensifies a statement of agreement, indicating that the speaker is craven or obsequious.
What part of speech is three bags full, sir?
Three bags full, sir is a phrase.
How do you pronounce three bags full, sir?
Three bags full, sir is pronounced /ˌθɹiː bæɡz ˈfʊl ˌsɜː/ (UK).

Words near three bags full, sir in the dictionary

  1. thred
  2. Thredbo
  3. threds
  4. three
  5. Three Amigos
  6. three bags full, sir
  7. three body problem
  8. three body problems
  9. Three Bridges
  10. three camera sitcom
  11. three card brag

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: three bags full, sir (page history and authors); three bags full, Sir (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)-Flame, not lame-three bags full, sir.wav.

Cite this entry: “three bags full, sir.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/three_bags_full%2C_sir. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.