Shag was a term of reference for another human being around here a few years back. Bit like saying "alright Dave" no matter what their name..."alright shag"
Would've made that video of the bloke chasing his dog in Richmond Park even funnier. "SHAG! SHAAAAGGGGG! JESUS CHRIST!"
I wouldn't say its a 'cockerney' thing. I'd say its more of a old folks thing. Goes back to pre-freezers; making use of the left overs and never wasting anything.
I love boxing day bubble and squeak with the leftovers from chrimbo. Christmas dinner is very different in US... usually turkey or ham but basically a bunch of overly sweet casseroles accompany it like sickly sweet green bean casserole or sweet potato pie covered in marshmallows. Quite disgusting really.
You take that ****ing back!!! and it's only done properly if Oranges are sliced in half, gutted, then you put the sweet potatoe/yams in with marshmallows and back! Delicious end to a superb rib sticking meal.
I'd like it better as a desert. Doesn't belong as a side dish to meat IMO. Sweet potato is already sweet without adding extra sweetness to it. Same as fruit salad here... why add sugar and marshmallows to fruit salad... its already sweet. My wife actually makes OK sweet potato pie... she leaves out a lot of the sweeteners for me. I do have a sweet tooth but somethings don't need extra sugar adding... especially not with dinner. Will say, its more a thanksgiving thing than chrimbo... but one of Americas best dishes is turducken. Had that alongside turkey one year... delicious.