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The English word gag, in the idiom ’gag a maggot’ means to choke or to retch; to feel like you are going to throw up or vomit. And, a maggot is a small legless larva, especially that of a fly that looks like a tiny worm. They are found on decaying matter, including decaying flesh. Meaning of the English Idiom: Gag a Maggot Something that would gag a maggot is disgusting or totally revolting. Usage Of Idiom: Gag a maggot, which is not heard as often today, is used to describe anything disgusting or revolting such as a bad odor or disagreeable sight. It can also be used generally to describe something considered very bad, immoral, highly illegal, etc. As well, it’s sometimes used as an exclamation, usually before saying something rude. For example: “Gag a maggot! He is very ugly.“ Examples Of Use: “The plan to redistrict, classic gerrymandering, that the legislature is considering is so anti-democracy it’s enough to gag a maggot.“ “Oh, this house is filthy! And the odor could gag a maggot!“ “He’s got a face that could gag a maggot and a personality to match.“ “My dad used to claim that my mother’s cooking could gag a maggot. He would even argue his point while eating every last bite with zeal.“ Origin of Idiom: The allusion in this idiom should be fairly clear. Something that could gag a maggot, which consumes decaying flesh, must be pretty revolting. The idiom has been used since at least the latter half of the 1940s. Before that, an earlier version was ’gag a maggot off a meat wagon.’ I found a citation as early as 1946, from Billboard magazine: The number of burlesque houses has dropped perceptibly from the old Columbia Wheel days, but the number has changed little from the first years after the burlesque dropped its mantel of respectability and adopted the policy which eventually led to virtual elimination of the man-and-wife trade in favor of catering to the morons with a balderdash of sewage, verbal and physical, that would very often gag a maggot.
