bib and tucker

American  

noun

1. clothes.

   to dress in one's best bib and tucker.

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bib and tucker British  

noun

1. informal an outfit of clothes (esp in the phrase best bib and tucker )

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Etymology

Origin of bib and tucker

First recorded in 1740–50

Example Sentences

Melbourne proudly put on its best bib and tucker for the local girl who made good.

From Time Magazine Archive

When the attorney came, she had on her "best bib and tucker," and never looked lovelier.

From Octavia The Octoroon by Lee, J. F.

She says of herself, "I was born with a boy's spirit under my bib and tucker," and she never lost it.

From Library of the World's Best Literature, Ancient and Modern — Volume 1 by Runkle, Lucia Isabella Gilbert

Yesterday was Sunday and Olga in her best bib and tucker sat out in the sun with Dinky-Dink.

From The Prairie Wife by Dunn, Harvey

Last night I decked myself in my best bib and tucker, and, in defiance of all precedent, went down to his apartment.

From The Eternal City by Caine, Hall, Sir