mess jacket

American  

noun

1. a short, tailless jacket extending to just below the waist, used for semiformal military occasions and now especially as part of the uniform of waiters, bellhops, etc.

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mess jacket British  

noun

1. a waist-length jacket tapering to a point at the back, worn by officers in the mess for formal dinners

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Etymology

Origin of mess jacket

First recorded in 1890–95

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

mess jacket

He lit two candles, blew out the lamp, and throwing aside his mess jacket, yawned and stretched himself extensively.

From The Great Amulet by Maud Diver

Put on a mess jacket and that sort of thing—easy dress.

From Kipps The Story of a Simple Soul by H. G. (Herbert George) Wells

Soon they came back, Mr. Osborne and Mr. Stevenson wearing the form of dress most usual in that hot climate, a white mess jacket, and white trousers, but their feet were still bare.

From Stevenson's Shrine The Record of a Pilgrimage by Laura Stubbs

Soon he was dressed in the mess jacket of a petty officer, and putting a yachting cap jauntily on his head, he went out to seek his friend.

From L.P.M. : the end of the Great War by J. Stewart (John Stewart) Barney

Over that matter of the mess jacket, I mean.

From Right Ho, Jeeves by P. G. (Pelham Grenville) Wodehouse