hair shirt

hair shirt

noun

Definition of HAIR SHIRT

1

: a shirt made of rough animal hair worn next to the skin as a penance

2

: one that irritates like a hair shirt

Examples of HAIR SHIRT

1. <the constant need to cut costs was a hair shirt, but one that the theater company had to live with>

First Known Use of HAIR SHIRT

14th century

Related to HAIR SHIRT

Synonyms: aggravation, aggro [British], bother, botheration, bugbear, exasperation, frustration, annoyance, hassle, headache, inconvenience, irk, irritant, nuisance, peeve, pest, rub, ruffle, thorn, trial, vexation

Related Words: discomfort, fleabite, pinprick; affront, insult, offense (or offence); upset, worry; affliction, albatross, burden, cross, curse, menace, millstone, plague, sore; anxiety, plight, predicament, tribulation, trouble; hang-up, pet peeve, problem; annoyer, disturber, harasser, mischief, offender; pandora's box

Near Antonyms: delight, joy, pleasure

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Other Clothing Terms

babushka, brogue, bumbershoot, cravat, dishabille, furbelow, layette, raiment, spectator

Rhymes with HAIR SHIRT

advert, alert, assert, avert, bellwort, birthwort, Blackshirt, brownshirt, bush shirt, camp shirt, colewort, concert, convert, covert, desert, dessert, dissert, divert, dress shirt, evert, exert, expert, exsert, figwort, fleawort, glasswort, Hastert, hornwort, inert, insert, invert, lousewort, lungwort, madwort, milkwort, mugwort, nightshirt, outskirt, overt, pay dirt, pervert, pilewort, ragwort, redshirt, revert, ribwort, saltwort, sandwort, Schubert, seagirt, sea squirt, soapwort, spearwort, spleenwort, stitchwort, stonewort, stuffed shirt, subvert, sweatshirt, toothwort, T-shirt, ungirt