English

A hot-air balloon in Lake Havasu City, Arizona, USA, with a colourful gasbag (sense 1)

Noun

gasbag ‎(plural gasbags)

1. A bag or bladder to hold a reservoir of gas, as in a hot-air balloon.
   • 1914, Eric [Henry] Stuart Bruce, Aircraft in War (Daily Telegraph War Books), London: Hodder & Stoughton, OCLC 221066587, page 24:

     By this method of construction a considerable amount of support can be imparted to the gasbag, though it does not dispense with the services of the ballonet, as does the entirely rigid type.

   • 2009, Shiming Ji [et al.], “Magnetorheological Flexible Gasbag Polishing Technique”, in Bo Zhao [et al.], editors, Advances in Grinding and Abrasive Technology XV: Selected, Peer Reviewed Papers from the 15th Conference of Abrasive Technology in China, 15th–17th August, 2009, Zhengzhou, China (Key Engineering Materials; 416), Zurich: Trans Tech Publications, ISBN 978-3-03-813263-9, page 584:

     A novel robotic gasbag polishing technique based on flexible polishing principle has been presented by S.M. Ji et al., which can make polishing process more stable and effective because the rubber gasbag provides cushioning action and almost all abrasive particles in the contact area are involved in the process of material removal on mould surface, etc […]

2. (figuratively) A person who is overly garrulous or prone to making empty, unsupportable statements; a windbag.
   • 1911, Edward Everett Hale, Jr., Dramatists of To-day: Rostand, Hauptmann, Sudermann, Pinero, Shaw, Phillips, Maeterlinck; being an Informal Discussion of their Significant Work, 6th rev. and enl. edition, New York, N.Y.: Henry Holt and Company, OCLC 10524242, page 124:

     Not that the Reverend James is absolutely a pretentious gasbag any more than Marchbanks is an inspired prophet. He has a definite, a positive part in the world's work.

   • 2012, J. Butler Cox, Providence of Mercy, Port Richey, Fla.: Mitchell-Morris Publishing, ISBN 978-1-937629-20-5:

     You would think the fate of civilization itself rested on the outcome of my trial, based on some of those gasbags who were only too happy to speculate, postulate and pontificate about my situation.

   • 2012 October 13, “Out of sight, out of mind: People who work from home are less likely to be promoted”, in The Economist, archived from the original on 20 March 2016:

     Most, however, do real work, undistracted by meetings and gasbag colleagues.

Synonyms

• (person): blowhard
• (both senses): windbag

Derived terms

• gasbaggery

Translations

Verb

gasbag ‎(third-person singular simple present gasbags, present participle gasbagging, simple past and past participle gasbagged)

1. (intransitive) To speak foolishly, pompously, or at length; to blather.
   • 1910, Pearson's Magazine, volume XXX, number II, London: C. Arthur Pearson, OCLC 1645313, page 71:

     "You're a swell at it. I'll allow that. And I'll provide the gas-bagging." / "The gas-bagging?" I inquired. "What exactly do you mean?" / "What do I mean, you dear old sober-sides?" said Lyne. “I mean that I will do all the bow-wowing […]"

   • 1984, Robert H. Adleman, Sweetwater Fever, New York, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill, ISBN 978-0-07-000354-5, page 221:

     You all see her flirtin and makin up to people and then they gasbag about it to make themselves important. But that's just her way. Underneath she's one of the most shy people you'd ever meet.

   • 2002, Auden Bailey, Drifting at the Bottom of the World, Ferndale, Mo.: Bella Books, ISBN 978-1-931513-17-3:

     Morning, noon, and night they gasbagged about every aspect of the operation.

   • 2008, Amanda Hampson, Two For The Road, Camberwell, Vic.: Penguin Books, ISBN 978-0-670-07191-3:

     […] Kingi spotted them and strode over. 'What are you two gasbagging about? Come on, join the party.' / 'We're not gasbagging, we're strategising,' Josie pointed out.