Sanz  +  271572 Sun, 24 Sep 06 05:34 AM hi, what are the differences between a bag and a purse? (in American English) Sanz Joined on Sat, Sep 17 2005 Full Member 110 Thanks a lot for helping me! American English

	Mister Micawber  +  271635 Sun, 24 Sep 06 12:06 PM They are often synonymous when meant to describe what women tote about with them constantly, full of cosmetics and car keys and credit cards.  Bags can also be bigger-- as in 'shopping bags' and 'travelling bags'.  Change purses (sometimes also called just 'purses') are tiny things for small coins and bobby pins. Mister Micawber Joined on Wed, Aug 4 2004 Yokohama Veteran Member 30,780 'The question is,' said Humpty Dumpty, 'which is to be master-- that's all.' American English

	Grammar Geek  +  282673 Wed, 18 Oct 06 03:15 PM  Mister Micawber wrote: They are often synonymous when meant to describe what women tote about with them constantly, full of cosmetics and car keys and credit cards.  Hmmph! When someone sneezes in church, who can be relied upon to procure a tissue to stop the otherwise ceaseles sniffing? A mother with a handbag! When someone gets a papercut that shows signs of bleeding all over important papers, who can fish out a Band-Aid? A mother with a handbag. When a button pops off and can't be left undone, who has a safety pin? Yes, indeed, a mother with a handbag! Stain removal stick? Oh yes! Aspirin? Check. Artificial sweetener when all the restaurant has is sugar or the pink stuff? All that is in addition to the girly stuff like a nail file and lipstick! However to answer the OP - I call it a purse most often, a handbag sometimes, and very rarely these days, a pocketbook. (I used pocketbook when I was a teen, however. I'm not sure if it's generational, or becuase that was more than 20 years ago and the word has gone out of style.) Grammar Geek Joined on Tue, Jan 10 2006 Veteran Member 19,652 Barbara, who answers in American English. My housekeeping skills attest to the truth of the second law of thermodynamics: Left to themselves, things get more and more random! American English

	Grammar Geek  +  293767 Thu, 16 Nov 06 06:04 AM That's my little joke. A typo is when you make a mistake typing. Like thsi. I make a lot of them. I do try to proofread, but I maek thme anyway. Grammar Geek Jokes, American English

	Grammar Geek  +  298618 Tue, 28 Nov 06 08:39 PM Handbag, purse, pocketbook - all of these are American. Grammar Geek

	Grammar Geek  +  302376 Sun, 10 Dec 06 05:03 AM No, not in American English. I put my money, picture of my kids, and credit cards in my WALLET. My wallet, keys, tissues, sweetener, hand sanitizer, pen, stain stick, Band-Aids, aspirin, safety pins, check book, and whatever else happens to be in there go into my PURSE. Or my HANDBAG. Or my POCKETBOOK. They are all the same. I'm sure the fashion mavens would tell you what the difference is, but unless you have your head glued to the fashion pages, you don't differentiate. Grammar Geek American English