Green’s Dictionary of Slang

(a) to scold, to talk severely to.

1739		Sessions Papers June cited in Partridge DSUE (1984) 955/1: On Monday night Bird and Clark came to their House to ragg (scold) her Grandfather for what he had talk’d of concerning them.
c.1786		Grose Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue ms. additions n.p.: to Rag, to Scold, or give abusive Language. She gave him a good Ragging or Ragged him off Heartily. Perhaps from tearing his Character to Rags.
1788, 1796		Grose Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue (2nd, 3rd edn) n.p.: To Rag. To abuse, and tear to rags the characters of the persons abused. She gave him a good ragging, or ragged him off heartily.
1797		‘T.B. Junr.’ Pettyfogger Dramatized II i: He ragged me confoundedly, and, to be sure, I deserved it.
1811		Lex. Balatronicum.
1823		‘Jon Bee’ Dict. of the Turf, the Ring, the Chase, etc.
1835		G. Kent Modern Flash Dict.
1848		Flash Dict. in Sinks of London Laid Open.
1859		Matsell Vocabulum 72: ragged Abused; slandered.
1882		‘F. Anstey’ Vice Versa (1931) 257: You’re right there, sir, [...] he ought to be well ragged for it .
1891		Kipling ‘His Private Honour’ in Many Inventions [TBD]: The captain had come up anf was raggin’ me about my tunic bein’ tore.
1902		E. Townsend Chimmie Fadden and Mr Paul 103: [She] cops us. My, my! But she ragged us good.
1913		A. Lunn Harrovians 16: He thinks he can rag you as much as he likes when you can’t answer back.
1923		Wodehouse Inimitable Jeeves 84: She’s the kind of woman who comes and rags you before breakfast.
1932		J. Dixon Free To Love 15: Now see here, Kit, if your gonna rag me – can’t stan’ – it.
1947		C. Willingham End as a Man (1952) 143: He was going to be here at nine. To rag you for writing me a dirty letter.
1958		Willans & Searle Complete Molesworth (1985) 351: He is a perfect gent [...] and I would never dreme of ragging him.
1967–8		Baker et al. CUSS 180: Angry. Constantly complaining and irritable.
1987		(con. 1967) E. Spencer Welcome to Vietnam (1989) 52: I don’t think I could take some cocksucker hovering over me like that, ragging at me about my every move.
1990		S. Morgan Homeboy 208: Shitefire, she ragged herself, you’ve heard enough men protest no strings.
2003		G. Tate Midnight Lightning 35: He [...] never tired of ragging younger players, and even Eric Clapton, about the heresy of inadequate rhythm guitar skills.

(b) (also rag on) to annoy, to tease (esp. in context of school or university).

1821–6		‘Bill Truck’ Man o’ War’s Man (1843) 248: Truce with your ragging, Dick [...] I’m not in the humour at all.
1871		L.H. Bagg Four Years at Yale 46: Rag, to overcome and entirely use up an opponent or rival.
1888		N&Q Ser. 7 VI 38: To rag a man is good Lincolnshire for chaff or tease [F&H].
1899		Sporting Gaz. (London) 12 Aug. 1002/1: Fortunately [...] we rarely hear sweet young girls talk about being ‘beastly jolly hungry,’ or [...] ‘it’s all jolly fine you men ragging me’.
1905		A. Binstead Mop Fair 170: He so ragged the bear that it shouted, ‘Aisy, Mick, yue something fool!’.
1914		‘Ian Hay’ Lighter Side of School Life 98: They will not dare to rag a prefect.
1917		A. Brazil Madcap of the School 11: ‘You needn’t look so incredulous. I’m not ragging’.
1923		‘Sapper’ Jim Maitland (1953) 74: You’ve got guts; you’ve got nerve, and I want to apologise here and now for ragging you.
1929		(con. WWI) H. Odum Wings on My Feet 21: Well, boys pulled him up but sho’ did rag life out of ’im.
1937		E. Garnett Family from One End Street 18: She got ragged as it was now she’d begun to go to school.
1945		G. Fairlie Capt. Bulldog Drummond 105: Yours very sincerely [...] makes up his mind to rag the stand-offish Drummond.
1950		A. Buckeridge Jennings Goes To School 67: Mr. Wilkins could not stand being ragged.
1963		K. Williams Diaries 2 Jan. 205: I was ragging Bett M[arsden] a lot, and felt v. guilty after.
1974		P. Gent North Dallas Forty 203: I loved to rag him.
1986		C. Bowles G’DAY 44: Darlene is nine months gone, and Mr Foster is [...] really dirty on her for getting preggers and all his mates are ragging him about it.
1984		Totally True Diaries of an Eighties Roller Queen 🌐 30 Apr. Kerrie wasn’t at school today and Gary was really ragging. Sometimes he can be a real prick.
1990		R. Campbell Sweet La-La Land (1999) 97: Otherwise he’d get on his ass and start ragging him and making small of him.
1996		(con. 1964-65) B. Thorpe Sex and Thugs and Rock ’n’ Roll 265: Bluey would rag Tony endlessly.
2004		Mad mag. Dec. 35: Think I want to see those fat, bald losers? I would. It’d be fun to rag on ’em.
2016		Sun. Times (London) 16 Oct. 🌐 Seventy years later he watches ‘loutish Tories’ ragging Jeremy Corbyn in the House of Commons.
2016		T. Robinson Rough Trade [ebook] ‘[W]e’re not consciously ragging on gay people when we use those words?’.
2023		(con. 1962) J. Ellroy Enchanters 126: Marilyn [...] ragged on your [i.e. Elizabeth Taylor’s] fat ass on a near-daily basis.

(c) to attack, to cause trouble; in context, to rob.

1900		E.H. Babbitt ‘College Words and Phrases’ in DN II:i 54: rag, v. To steal.
1998		K. Sampson Awaydays 11: Everyone seems pretty intent on ragging the town come what may. [Ibid.] 42: They’d stayed on the train until Stoke and ragged the shops in Hanley.
2001		K. Sampson Outlaws (ms.) 90: We got together afterwards and ragged them.

(d) (US campus) to talk nonsense.

1900

E.H. Babbitt ‘College Words and Phrases’ in DN II:i 54: rag, v. To talk nonsense.

(e) (UK juv.) to create disorder.

1904		Wodehouse Gold Bat [ebook] ‘Mill is awfully barred in Seymour’s [...] Anybody might have ragged his study’.
1913		A. Lunn Harrovians 47: They give privs to understand that they can rag mildly if only they stop other blokes.

(f) to fight, to beat up; to manhandle.

1911		Gem 18 Nov. 27: Tom Merry faced the raggers. ‘Before you rag him, you’ll have to rag me!’ he said.
2005		B. Hare Urban Grimshaw 58: She kicked Tyson across the room and ragged the kids off the pile, one by one.
2012		R. Milward Kimberly’s Capital Punishment (2023) 490: [F]ighting each other for the right to rag my arsehole.

(g) to argue over a topic, to wrangle.

1932

(con. 1910s) J.T. Farrell Young Lonigan in Studs Lonigan (1936) 119: She was tired of sitting down to a Sunday dinner and being forced to listen to this interminable ragging.

(h) (US) to gossip.

1972		B. Rodgers Queens’ Vernacular 167: rag [...] 3. (fr colloq chew the rag) to gossip, criticize, speak badly of one absent.
2003		A.N. LeBlanc Random Family 50: Miranda and another worker were ragging about George’s predilection for expensive silk shirts.

(i) to complain.

1977		Eble Campus Sl. Fall 5: rag – to complain bitterly.
1997–2001		Online Sl. Dict. 🌐 rag v [...] 3. to complain. (‘Stop ragging about that!’).

(j) to question closely, to interrogate.

2000		F. Kellerman Stalker (2001) 93: ‘If you keep raggin’ like that, maybe not.’ She shrugged. ‘Just asked a simple question.’.
2004		J. Ellroy ‘Hot-Prowl Rape-O’ in Destination: Morgue! (2004) 303: Don’t rag the suicide scenario, don’t risk your pension pack.

(a) to menstruate.

1967–8		Baker et al. CUSS 180: Rag it Be menstruating.
1997–2001		Online Sl. Dict. 🌐 rag v 1. to menstruate. (‘I’ve been ragging since Tuesday, and I feel horrible!’) 2. to stain with menses. (‘Oh, man, I ragged my pants.’).

(b) to be irritable.

1978

Eble Campus Sl. Apr. 3: rag – to be irritable: Don’t talk to her, she’s ragging.