Phrase guide
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
noun
A question which causes a disadvantage to the asker simply by virtue of being asked.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: humorous
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
History
Calque of Hebrew שְׁאֵלַת קִיטְבֶּג (she'elat kitbeg). An apocryphal tale of the term's origin involves a squad of soldiers in the Israeli Army: A commander tells the soldiers, "We're going on a 5 mile run". And some dip asks, "Do we have to bring our kitbags?" At which point, the answer is yes. It wouldn't have been if the soldier hadn't asked the question. The story is retold with some variation, but always involving a commander telling a subordinate soldier to run with his kitbag.
