English · Idiom Historical

to hang about

Preserved but no longer current.

Both English Tiếng Việt

Meaning · English

To loaf, loiter. In America to hang around is more usual.

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

lảng vảng, nhàn rỗi

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)

Sources & notes

Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.

Topics: Historical slang (1800s)

Common questions

What does “to hang about” mean?

To loaf, loiter. In America to hang around is more usual.

Is “to hang about” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.

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