grab bag

noun
1.
a container or receptacle from which a person at a party or the like draws a gift without knowing what it is.
2.
any miscellaneous collection.
Origin
1850-55, Americanism
Examples from the web for grab bag
  • Not to be left off the gravy train, big business also pushed through its own grab bag of perks in the new legislation.
  • It's a bit of a grab bag, and the selection changes based on what the owners find on the market.
  • Earn twenty-five stickers and get a prize out of the grab bag.
  • Select a wetland artifact from a grab bag and learn the many functions of wetlands.
  • Teens bring prescription drugs from their home medicine cabinets and mix them all together in a grab bag.
  • He filed this timely appeal raising a grab bag of challenges to his conviction.
British Dictionary definitions for grab bag

grab bag

noun
1.
a collection of miscellaneous things
2.
(US & Canadian, Austral) a bag or other container from which gifts are drawn at random
Idioms and Phrases with grab bag

grab bag

A miscellaneous collection, as in The meeting amounted to a grab bag of petty complaints. This term alludes to a container offered at a party or fair, where one dips in for a party favor or prize without knowing what one will get. [ Mid-1800s ]