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mixed bag

noun

Informal.

an often unexpected assortment of various things, people, or ideas:
The concert was a mixed bag of works from three centuries.

mixed bag

noun

informal.
something composed of diverse elements, characteristics, people, etc

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Word History and Origins

Origin of mixed bag¹

First recorded in 1935–40

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Idioms and Phrases

A heterogeneous collection of people, items, activities, or the like; an assortment. For example, The school offers a mixed bag of after-school activities—team sports, band practice, a language class . This idiom calls up the image of a sack full of different items. [First half of 1900s]

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

But Welsh Conservative shadow health secretary James Evans said the statistics "are worse than a mixed bag".

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But a few of the new season’s best characters are wholly original, including Catherine O’Hara’s Gail, Eugene’s gloriously sardonic wife who takes on the mixed bag of being the only therapist in Jackson.

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When it comes to elevating our understanding of The Beatles, Ian Leslie’s new book "John & Paul: A Love Story in Songs" is a mixed bag.

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The state’s congressional races have been a mixed bag in recent cycles.

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It’s a mixed bag, just like anything that reaches a lot of people.

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

mixed acid mixed blessing

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