clotheshorse

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

From clothes +‎ horse.

Noun

clotheshorse (plural clotheshorses)

  1. A frame on which laundry is hung to dry.
    Synonyms: airer, clothes maiden, clothes screen, drying rack
    • 2022, Liam McIlvanney, The Heretic, page 279:
      In front of the darkened electric fire stood a wooden clothes horse draped with tights and underwear.
  2. (slang, figurative, somewhat derogatory) A person excessively concerned with the appearance of their clothing.
    • 1997, Haruki Murakami, translated by Jay Rubin, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.; republished New York: Vintage Books, 1998, →ISBN, page 471:
      Her mother was a genuine clotheshorse. She had had more kimonos and dresses than room in their chests to store them […]

Translations

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References

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