straight shirttail
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.38 in modern English
24
Scrabble Score
17
Letters
2
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
Example Sentences
- "The other boat closed with them. They had seen the seal basking on a low rock, but he was wary, and as soon as they came in sight, he flounced off the rock into the water, and made 'straight shirt-tails,' as the Yankees say, Allan taking a snap shot at him just ere he did so; but whether he had struck, grazed, or merely frightened the seal he could hardly tell."
- "An' he made the funniest noise, tryin' to git his breath; kind of a 'w-e-e-k'—like a fat hog choked on an apple. Then he took a straight shirttail fer the open air; an' gittin' outside, he leaned up ag'inst the wall an' commenced to cry."
- "The chairman had difficulty preserving order. One man said of their guest from Missouri: "I'll advise him to make a straight shirt tail for Missouri.""
Etymology
Alluding to shirttails, which were formerly commonly worn by gentlemen. When someone would break into a run, they would rise into the air; hence, one might make "straight shirttails" when moving so fast that the shirttails become horizontal.