Background for shirt-tail

shirt-tail

/ˈʃɜːrˌteɪl/ /ˈʃɜːrtˌteɪl/

Illustration shirt-tail - Image 1

noun

The single or split (then rather plural) bottom part of a shirt, below the waist, especially in the back, which, when not tucked into trousers or other vestment, hangs over the wearer's tail-end, like a tail.

Examples :

"The boy's shirt-tail was flapping in the breeze as he ran to catch the bus. "

body part wear item appearance

Illustration shirt-tail - Image 1

noun

(by extension) The tail-end or periphery of something.

Examples :

"The small town lived on the shirt-tail of the city's booming economy, benefiting from the spillover of jobs and opportunities. "

Illustration shirt-tail - Image 1

noun

A tenuous connection.

Examples :

"Although she claimed distant royal ancestry, the only evidence was a very thin shirt-tail of a family legend and a common last name. "

abstract aspect

Illustration shirt-tail - Image 1

noun

A distant kinship.

Examples :

""Although they share the last name O'Connell, their connection is only a shirt-tail, dating back several generations." "

Illustration shirt-tail - Image 1

noun

A small portion

Examples :

"He only caught a shirt-tail of the conversation, just enough to know his name was mentioned. "

Illustration shirt-tail - Image 1

noun

Something small and unimportant.

Examples :

"His contribution to the project was just a shirt-tail; the real work was done by others. "

value thing aspect