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shirttail

[shurt-teyl]
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noun
  1. the part of a shirt below the waistline.
  2. Journalism. a brief item added at the end of a related newspaper story.Compare follow-up(def 3b).
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adjective
  1. quite young and immature in behavior.
  2. Chiefly Midland and Southern U.S. of distant relation, especially by marriage: some shirttail cousins I'd never met.
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verb (used with object)
  1. Informal. to append or add (an item) to a discussion or writing: The tariff concessions were shirttailed onto the trade bill.
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Origin of shirttail

An Americanism dating back to 1835–45; shirt + tail1
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for shirttail

Historical Examples

  • Tom opened one of the containers of water and dipped his shirttail into it.

    Stand by for Mars!

    Carey Rockwell

  • Then Penelope hobbled up and pulled Mark's shirttail out of his trousers.