boiled shirt

English

Etymology

John Camden Hotten's Slang Dictionary (1873) states: "In the mining camps, and rough parts generally, a white shirt is called a biled[sic] shirt to distinguish it from the usual woollen garment, which cannot be boiled."

Noun

boiled shirt (plural boiled shirts)

  1. (slang, dated) A freshly laundered white shirt.
    Synonym: boiled rag
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