'ballyrag' originates from colloquial English (chiefly British and American, early 20th century), probably formed by combining 'bally' (a euphemistic alteration of 'bloody') with 'rag' (in the sense of 'tease' or 'taunt').

'ballyrag' likely developed from the earlier phrase 'belly-rag' or from spoken forms where 'bally' replaced 'bloody'; the verb 'ballyrag' appears in 20th-century English and produced past forms such as 'ballyragged' used both as verb and adjective.

Initially it may have implied teasing or roughly taunting (a more physical or jocular sense); over time it settled on the sense 'to scold or berate sharply', which is the common modern usage.