shirttail

American  

[shurt-teyl] / ˈʃɜrtˌteɪl /

noun

1. the part of a shirt below the waistline.

2. Journalism. a brief item added at the end of a related newspaper story.

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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.

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.

Etymology

Origin of shirttail

An Americanism dating back to 1835–45; shirt + tail ¹

Example Sentences

Unless someone put him to rights, he might show up for a speech with his shirttail out, or wearing his lunch on his tie.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 23, 2023

He broke one tackle — tight end Demetrius Harris had his shirttail at one point — and outran several others behind a wall of blockers.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 26, 2021

Instead, Sexton wrote he found three holes near the shirttail.

From Fox News • Apr. 3, 2021

Birch Bayh, “just a shirttail lawyer from Shirkieville” in his words, was an unlikely avatar of constitutional reform when he arrived in Washington in 1963 after ousting a prominent three-term incumbent.

From Washington Post • Mar. 14, 2019

She takes off her glasses and cleans them on her shirttail.

From "The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman" by Gennifer Choldenko