See Also: tee shirt(dictionary)
T-shirt(dictionary)
red shirt(dictionary)
shirt(dictionary)
T-shirt(dictionary)
shirt(dictionary)
stuffed shirt(dictionary)
sports shirt(dictionary)
sport shirt(dictionary)
shirt-lifter(dictionary)

shirt (iou)



shirt noun & verb.

A. noun.
A garment for the upper body, made of cotton, linen, flannel, or other washable material, and formerly worn by both sexes next to the skin as an undergarment. Now esp. (a) a man's or boy's upper garment with sleeves, usu. having a collar and fastening down the front with buttons, worn under a jacket or sweater; (b) a similar garment worn by a woman or girl, a blouse; (c) (usu. with specifying word) an upper garment designed to be put on over the head, without fastenings, or full fastenings, freq. of stretchable material, and usu. worn as casual wear or for sports. OE.
Hawaian shirt, Oxford shirt, ruffle shirt, sweatshirt, T-shirt, etc. attrib.: shirt-collar, shirt cuff, shirtpocket, etc.
B. W. Aldiss He wore a striped light jacket..a white shirt and a pair of blue trousers.
b. A long loose garment resembling a shirt; spec. = nightshirt s.v. NIGHT noun. M16.
c. fig. A type of something nearest to a person, a person's thoughts, heart, etc. M16-M17.
d. A shirt of a specified colour worn as the emblem or uniform of a political party or movement; transf. a person wearing such a shirt. M19.
blackshirt, redshirt, etc.
transf. An inner casing, covering, or lining. OE.
Phrases: bloody shirt (a) a bloodstained shirt exhibited as a symbol of murder or outrage; (b) fig. something likely to provoke outrage. BOILED shirt. get a person's shirt out colloq. cause (a person) to lose his or her temper. habit-shirt: see HABIT noun. hair shirt: see HAIR noun. in one's shirt arch. in one's night attire; without one's outer garments. keep one's shirt on colloq. (orig. US) keep one's temper, remain calm. lose one's shirt colloq. lose all one's possessions. NESSUS shirt. not a shirt to one's back no goods or possessions. not tell one's shirt keep a matter strictly secret. put one's shirt on colloq. bet all one has on; be certain of. read one's shirt: see READ verb. shirt of hair arch. = hair shirt s.v. HAIR noun. shirt of mail = coat of mail s.v. COAT noun 1. shirt of NESSUS. STUFFED shirt. the shirt off one's back colloq. one's last remaining possessions.
Comb.: shirt-blouse a woman's or girl's blouse; shirt-button (a) a small button, esp. of mother-of-pearl, pierced with thread holes, used as a fastening for shirts; (b) in pl., the greater stitchwort, Stellaria holostea; shirt-cutter a person who cuts out shirts as a trade; shirt-dress = shirtwaister below; shirt-frill Hist. a frill worn on the front and wrist-bands of a shirt; shirt front noun & adjective (a) noun the breast of a shirt, esp. of a stiffened evening shirt; a dicky; transf. a white patch on an animal's chest; (b) adjective (colloq.) (of a cricket pitch) very smooth and even; shirt-jac W. Indies = shirt-jacket below; shirt-jacket (chiefly US) a loose-fitting linen jacket; a garment resembling a shirt but worn as a jacket; shirtlifter slang (orig. Austral.), derog. a male homosexual; shirtmaker (US proprietary name for) a shirtwaister; shirt-pin an ornamental pin used to fasten a shirt at the throat; shirt stud a stud for fastening a shirt; shirt-tail noun & adjective (a) noun the lower curved part of a shirt below the waist; (b) adjective (N. Amer.) designating something small and insignificant or a remote relationship; shirt-waist (orig. US) (a) a shirt-blouse; (b) a similar article of male clothing; shirt-waist dress, shirtwaister (orig. US) a dress with a bodice buttoning at the front like a shirt.
b. verb trans. Clothe (as) with a shirt. LME.
shirtless adjective E17.