student asking question

How does "whole other bag" happen to mean the "completely different one"? I'm curious about the origin of this expression.

teacher

Native speaker’s answer

Rebecca

"Whole other bag" means "a whole different matter/situation/problem/issue." It originated from the expression, "whole other bag of tricks." It's an American idiomatic expression that does not make sense literally, but can applied to a variety of situations. You can also use similar expressions like, "whole 'nother matter," or "whole other thing." Ex: I thought that my experience as a model would help me in acting. But I was wrong! Acting is a whole other bag. Ex: It's one thing to babysit your friends' or siblings' kids. But having your own kids is a whole 'nother matter!

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