bloody shirt

noun

|Updated on: 23 Jun 2018

Definition of bloody shirt

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

Recent Examples of bloody shirt from the Web

Police responded to reports of a loud bang and a man in a bloody shirt throwing a blue bucket into a nearby dumpster, the Tribune reported.

— stephen sorace, Fox News, "Dad charged with child abuse homicide after son, 2, shoots self, authorities say," 8 June 2018
To some Republican strategists, waving the bloody shirt of impeachment is unwise — at least this early in the election season.

— author: jonathan martin, Anchorage Daily News, "Republicans stoke fear of Democratic push for impeachment for an edge in the 2018 midterm election," 9 Apr. 2018
So basically, if there was some corroborating evidence — the knife was found, there was DNA, or a bloody shirt or something — that would have established it more clearly.

— mensah m. dean, Philly.com, "Jury says 'not guilty' in stabbing of Philly Councilman David Oh," 29 Mar. 2018
Investigators also found a bloody shirt in the bathroom of a nearby gas station.

— crimesider staff, CBS News, "Fort Bragg paratrooper charged in Texas teen's 2013 ax attack, rape," 13 Feb. 2018
Abiding by the age-old custom, the Berisha matriarch hangs her dead son’s bloody shirt up on the family clothesline.

— aaron gilbreath, Longreads, "Stewards of the Blood," 23 Jan. 2018
Investigators found the bodies, the tire iron and the bloody shirt.

— michael lambrix, CBS News, "Florida executes man convicted of 1983 killings," 6 Oct. 2017
Investigators found the bodies, the tire iron and the bloody shirt.

— miamiherald, "Florida executes double murderer Michael Lambrix," 6 Oct. 2017
Investigators found the bodies, the tire iron and the bloody shirt.

— miamiherald, "Florida executes double murderer Michael Lambrix," 6 Oct. 2017

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.