Bagsey!

[catkingirl]

What's the origin of 'Bagsey' or 'Dibs' to nominate something as your own before someone else can. Not said alot nowadays, granted, but it still has its uses!

[firefly]

It is not 'Bagsey' but bags I, because if you usually possess something by keeping in a bag of some sort (particularly if you go to public school). The opposite is 'fains I'. I'm not sure where 'dibs' comes from.

[Quizmonster]

'Dibs' has been used as a word meaning 'I claim that' only since the 1930s. However, it may have been based on a much older use of the word meaning a game played with sheeps' knuckle-bones. This possibly resembled playing marbles, with players 'claiming' opponents' pieces in certain circumstances.

[catkingirl]

At school we used 'fains I' (fainsies) as a kind of special word to make you immune from games and stuff - the same thing do you think? We also used Pax or Paxey.