What is "gag"

Gag \Gag\, v. i.

1. To heave with nausea; to retch.

2. To introduce gags or interpolations. See Gag, n.,

3. [Slang]
   --Cornill Mag.

Gag \Gag\, n.

1. Something thrust into the mouth or throat to hinder speaking.

2. A mouthful that makes one retch; a choking bit; as, a gag of mutton fat.
   --Lamb.

3. A speech or phrase interpolated offhand by an actor on the stage in his part as written, usually consisting of some seasonable or local allusion. [Slang]

4. a remark or act causing laughter.

5. . A prank.

   Gag rein (Harness), a rein for drawing the bit upward in the horse's mouth.

   Gag runner (Harness), a loop on the throat latch guiding the gag rein.

Gag \Gag\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Gagged; p. pr. & vb. n. Gagging.] [Prob. fr. W. cegio to choke or strangle, fr. ceg mouth, opening, entrance.]

1. To stop the mouth of, by thrusting sometimes in, so as to hinder speaking; hence, to silence by authority or by violence; not to allow freedom of speech to.
   --Marvell.

   The time was not yet come when eloquence was to be gagged, and reason to be hood winked.
   --Maccaulay.

2. To pry or hold open by means of a gag.

   Mouths gagged to such a wideness.
   --Fortescue (Transl.).

3. To cause to heave with nausea.

mid-15c., transitive, "to choke, strangle" (someone), possibly imitative and perhaps influenced by Old Norse gag-hals "with head thrown back." The sense of "stop a person's mouth by thrusting something into it" is first attested c.1500. Intransitive sense of "to retch" is from 1707. Transitive meaning "cause to heave with nausea" is from 1945. Related: Gagged; gagging.

"a joke," 1863, especially a practical joke, probably related to theatrical sense of "matter interpolated in a written piece by the actor" (1847); or from the sense "made-up story" (1805); or from slang verbal sense of "to deceive, take in with talk" (1777), all of which perhaps are from gag (v.) on the notion of "to stuff, fill" (see gag (v.)). Gagster "comedian" is by 1932.

"something thrust into the mouth or throat to prevent speaking," 1550s, from gag (v.); figurative use, "violent or authoritative repression of speech," is from 1620s.

abbr. group specific antigens n. 1 A device to restrain speech, such as a rag in the mouth secured with tape or a rubber ball threaded onto a cord or strap. 2 (context legal English) An order or rule forbidding discussion of a case or subject. 3 A joke or other mischievous prank. vb. 1 (context intransitive English) To experience the vomiting reflex. 2 (context transitive English) To cause to heave with nause

1. 3 (rfc-sense) (context U.S. Army slang English) To smoke#Transitive_verb: to order a recruit to exercise until he "gags" (usually spoken in exaggeration). 4 (context transitive English) To restrain someone's speech by blocking his or her mouth.

1. n. a humorous anecdote or remark intended to provoke laughter; "he told a very funny joke"; "he knows a million gags"; "thanks for the laugh"; "he laughed unpleasantly at hisown jest"; "even a schoolboy's jape is supposed to have some ascertainable point" [syn: joke, laugh, jest, jape]

2. restraint put into a person's mouth to prevent speaking or shouting [syn: muzzle]

3. [also: gagging, gagged]

1. v. prevent from speaking out; "The press was gagged" [syn: muzzle]

2. be too tight; rub or press; "This neckband is choking the cat" [syn: choke, fret]

3. tie a gag around someone's mouth in order to silence them; "The burglars gagged the home owner and tied him to a chair" [syn: muzzle]

4. make jokes or quips; "The students were gagging during dinner" [syn: quip]

5. struggle for breath; have insufficient oxygen intake; "he swallowed a fishbone and gagged" [syn: choke, strangle, suffocate]

6. cause to retch or choke [syn: choke]

7. make an unsuccessful effort to vomit; strain to vomit [syn: heave, retch]

8. [also: gagging, gagged]

A gag is usually an item or device designed to prevent speech, often as a restraint device to stop the subject from calling for help and keep its wearer quiet. This is usually done by blocking the mouth, partially or completely, or attempting to prevent the tongue, lips, or jaw from moving in the normal patterns of speech. The more "effective" a gag appears to be, the more hazardous it is: for example, duct tape is fairly effective at keeping one's mouth shut but is hazardous if for some reason (e.g., the common cold) the subject cannot breathe freely through the nose. For this reason, a gagged person should never be left alone.

The use of gags is commonly depicted in soap operas and crime fiction, particularly in comics and novels. It is also often used in movies, such as Raiders of the Lost Ark and its sequel Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

Very rarely, courts have been known to gag unruly defendants. Bobby Seale is one example.

During the filming of Rope, a camera operator's foot was broken by a heavy dolly during one intensive take, and to stop his vocal noises from being recorded on the film he was gagged and hauled out of the studio so that filming could continue without interruption.

Occasionally a cloth over-the-mouth gag is used not to prevent speech but to keep dust and aerosols out of the lungs.

A gag is a device sometimes worn during sexual bondage and BDSM roleplay. Gags are usually associated with roleplays involving bondage, but that is not necessarily the case. The person who wears the gag is regarded as the submissive partner, while the other is regarded as the dominant one.

People may wear gags for a variety of reasons. Some people derive erotic pleasure from a gag, either in a submissive or dominant role. When combined with other physical restraints, the wearing of a gag can increase the wearer's sense of helplessness and anxiety level within a BDSM scene by rendering them unable to speak during sexual activity, which some people enjoy.

For some people, gags have connotations of punishment and control, and thus can be used as a form of humiliation. To some, wearing a gag without restraints is still an act of humiliation, as is an open mouth gag. Some fetishists are sexually aroused by the sound gagged people make when they try to speak, or by seeing a person drool uncontrollably.

The type of gag used depends on the tastes of the parties and the type of roleplay scene, what is available at the time, and safety considerations. Some gags are designed to fill the mouth, while others are designed to provide access to the mouth by forcing the mouth open. Gags may be classified as over-the-mouth type, mouth stuffing type or mouth opening type.

When a person is sexually aroused by gags, it may be considered a paraphilia. One specific gag paraphilia relates to video depictions in which the captor gags the damsel in distress to stop her screaming for help. Some people are sexually aroused by such imagery, even if there is no nudity or sexual act present, or even if the victim is only gagged but not restrained in any way.

The word gag or the acronym GAG can refer to:

Gag is an album released in 1984 by British musician Fad Gadget. It is a combination of electronica and industrial styles, and features the German band Einstürzende Neubauten on the second track, "Collapsing New People", which was also released as a single. ("Einstürzende Neubauten" translates as "Collapsing new buildings - specifically, tower blocks".)

Recorded for Mute Records in 1984, Gag was a fairly experimental, and ultimately, not a commercial album.

thumb|right|300px|Jennings gag In the context of surgery or dental surgery, a gag is a device used to hold the patient's mouth open when working in the oral cavity, or to force the mouth open when it cannot open naturally because of forward dislocation of the jaw joint's intraarticular cartilage pad. Applications for medical gags include oral surgery and airway management. Gag designs, like other medical instrument designs, are often named after their inventors. Common examples of medical gags include the Jennings, Whitehead, and Hallam gags.

• The Whitehead gag --invented in 1877 by Walter Whitehead (1840-1913), a surgeon in Manchester, England1-- consists of two hinged metal frames that wrap around the front of the patient's head and which have sections bent to fit between the front teeth. When spread apart, the frames separate the jaws, holding the mouth open. The desired degree of separation is set and maintained by a ratchet mechanism on each side of the frame.
• In Jennings gags --which are very similar in other respects-- there is a ratchet on only one side.