Meaning
What does Tag Along mean?
Tag along refers to a popular phrasal verb, used most frequently to invite someone to accompany us.
Tagalong is a derivative noun of the expression, used for labeling people who are annoyingly always following someone else’s lead.
Origin
What's the origin of Tag Along?
While the exact origin of the phrase is not known, the word tag has been used in this sense since the end of the 17th century.
The first documented case of “tag along” can be traced back to 1900.
Since then, the expression has grown popular in the entire anglosphere.
Spread & Usage
How did Tag Along spread?
Over the 20th century, “tag along” has experienced a significant spread, even appearing in the financial jargon, in the form of tag-along rights, or co-sale rights.
Despite this, the most common use of the phrase remains in everyday conversations, telling someone to follow, like the eternal nightmares of Cthulhu follow us after uttering the dark phrase Ph’nglui mglw’nafh cthulhu r’lyeh wgah’nagl fhtagn.
“Tag along” was first defined on Urban Dictionary in 2003.
