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shirttail

[ shurt-teyl ]
/ ˈʃɜrtˌteɪl /
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noun
the part of a shirt below the waistline.
Journalism. a brief item added at the end of a related newspaper story.Compare follow-up (def. 3b).
adjective
quite young and immature in behavior.
Chiefly Midland and Southern U.S. of distant relation, especially by marriage: some shirttail cousins I'd never met.
verb (used with object)
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

Words nearby shirttail

shirting, shirt jacket, shirt-lifter, shirtmaker, shirt-sleeve, shirttail, shirtwaist, shirtwaister, shirty, shisha, shish kebab
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use shirttail in a sentence

  • We then and there decided, almost unanimously, to follow Shirttail.

    Gold|Stewart White

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

    You Too Can Be A Millionaire|Noel Miller Loomis

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

    Stand by for Mars!|Carey Rockwell

British Dictionary definitions for shirttail

shirt-tail
noun
the part of a shirt that extends below the waist
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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