linsey-woolsey

American  

[lin-zee-wool-zee] / ˈlɪn ziˈwʊl zi /

noun

plural

linsey-woolseys

1. a coarse fabric woven from linen warp, or sometimes cotton, and coarse wool filling.

2. a garment made from this.

3. Archaic. any mixture that is incongruous or of poor quality; jumble.

   That last speech was a linsey-woolsey of stale platitudes.

---

linsey-woolsey British  

/ ˈlɪnzɪˈwʊlzɪ /

noun

1. a thin rough fabric of linen warp and coarse wool or cotton filling

2. a strange nonsensical mixture or confusion

---

Etymology

Origin of linsey-woolsey

1425–75; late Middle English lynsy wolsye literally, linen cloth, wool cloth, equivalent to lyn ( Old English līn; linen ) + -sy, variant of say cloth (< Old French saie; akin to Medieval Latin sagia kind of weave, Latin sagum cloak) + wol wool + -sye, variant of say

Example Sentences

He sat on the ground, his feet bare, his linsey-woolsey blouse veined with dirt, his dark face caked with mud.

From Literature

Those skimpy sleeves did not even cover her elbows, and the scratchy linsey-woolsey cloth kept her thin shoulders constantly twitching.

From Literature

Dressed in their fringed linsey-woolsey hunting-shirts, with their muskets in their hands, they made a novel marine corps as ever trod the deck of a battle-ship.

From Project Gutenberg

Most of the women in the fort wore linsey-woolsey frocks of the plainest cut, and, while some had Indian moccasins on their feet, the majority were barefoot.

From Project Gutenberg

Her dress was a shapeless linsey-woolsey gown, and home-made list slippers covered her long, lank feet 'Be that the fashion?' she asked, pointing to my short, closely fitting walking-dress.

From Project Gutenberg