Blagging/Ligging

Posted by Blagger on June 27, 2003

In Reply to: Blagging posted by Barney on June 25, 2003

: : : BLAGGING - Gate-crashing. "Prince William's uninvited party guest has earned his stripes in that most underhand of society sports - blagging.blagging one's way into a society do requires a different arsenal of duplicitous techniques." From "Blag of tricks" by Jonathan Duffy, BBC News Online. June 24, 2003.

: : You'd think he would have needed blagging skills of the first water. Apparently though he just went up to the policeman on the door (dressed in the nicely unconspicous false beard and pink ballgown) and said 'please let me in'.

: As it happened, he climbed over a wall - which adjoins a school and was, in former years, patrolled by soldiers in uniform - was stopped by a contractors employee who passed him on to a policeman inside the castle. The policeman then believed his story that he was a drunken guest who had got lost and guided him to the party. That was a real 'blagging' effort on his part.

There are 2 types of 'blagging' - one meaning is to get in somewhere (I have been known to blag my way in to various venues when I have forgotten my ticket or see no reason why I should not go in) - the other meaning is "to get hold of, usually for free" - so people say "I've blagged a couple of tickets to...". It is also thieves' cant for stealing - particularly a robbery : "a blag" is a "job".

getting into places to enjoy hospitality to which one is not entitled is usually called "ligging" - and certainly back in the early 80s - people hanging on to rock stars without the offer of sex in exchange were called "liggers" - the Marquee Club in London had a group of music fans who called themselves "The Liggers" and who scrounged drink (if not drugs).
(a friend of mine was in that group - she was a "groupie" who preferred to have a beer and a chat rather than a shag!)

• Blagging/Ligging ESC 06/28/03
  • Blagging/Ligging Lewis 06/30/03