bloody shirt

noun

Definition of bloody shirt

: something intended to stir up or revive partisan animosity —usually used in the phrase wave the bloody shirt

Examples of bloody shirt in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Police reported finding a bloody jacket on the fence and the sword and a bloody shirt in the alley. — Tom Steele, Dallas News, "Dallas woman killed man with sword she had tried to sell him, police say," 13 Nov. 2020 Officers found a bloody shirt and torn coat under a streetcar viaduct near Fort Snelling, where bloody underwear was found in a barracks locker. — Curt Brown, Star Tribune, "Flour packer's brutal 1912 Minneapolis murder still unsolved," 17 Oct. 2020 The prosecution then showed Sherrard’s bloodied shirt and his body cam and radio microphone — the latter two had been damaged by bullets. — Dallas News, "‘You killed a cop tonight’: Detective says man who fired on police acted shocked to learn Richardson officer had died," 19 Feb. 2020 Molino either absconded or just left but was apprehended in Houston a couple of weeks later, in possession of a bloody shirt thought to be Gerhardt’s. — Paula Allen, ExpressNews.com, "Farmer buried in San Antonio East Side cemetery suffered ‘unspeakable horror’ at farm near Yorktown," 21 Mar. 2020 Democrats will wave the draft ethics rule, if it is adopted, as a bloody shirt against judicial nominees who have belonged to the Federalist Society. — The Editorial Board, WSJ, "More Judicial Political Mischief," 23 Jan. 2020 Investigators said a bloody shirt and towel were recovered from the scene. — Carol Robinson | Crobinson@al.com, al, "Charges upgraded against man in death of his girlfriend’s 1-year-old son," 6 Sep. 2019 Now remember, the defense suggested that tossing this bloody shirt may have caused some of the blood spatter in the bedroom. — CBS News, "Accident or murder? Investigating the death of Leslie Neulander," 16 Nov. 2019 Investigators said a bloody shirt and towel were recovered from the scene. — Carol Robinson | Crobinson@al.com, al, "Charges upgraded against man in death of his girlfriend’s 1-year-old son," 6 Sep. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'bloody shirt.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.