boiled shirt

noun

1. a formal or semiformal dress shirt with a starched front.

boiled shirt

noun

1. informal.
   a dress shirt with a stiff front

Word History and Origins

Origin of boiled shirt¹

An Americanism dating back to 1850–55

Example Sentences

Shirt′-sleeve, the sleeve of a shirt; Shirt′-waist, a woman's overgarment or blouse, coming to the waist and belted there.—Bloody shirt, a blood-stained shirt, as the symbol of murder; Boiled shirt, a white shirt clean washed; In one's shirt-sleeves, without the coat.

From Project Gutenberg

It was easy to see that the hero and his boiled shirt were a standing jest in the family circle.

From Project Gutenberg

The new links he had bought could only be persuaded with difficulty into the cuffs of the boiled shirt; further trouble presented itself with the collar, and finally, when all the major operations were complete, he had to solve the problem of a white tie or a black one.

From Project Gutenberg

Then he leaned forward and said confidentially: “But I’ll confess, all this tight-fittin’ clothes, and a boiled shirt with stiff collars and cuffs ain’t to my likin’!

From Project Gutenberg

You know very well you adore this country, like all the rest of the men, and would never be happy in a ‘boiled’ shirt again.”

From Project Gutenberg