boiled shirt

noun

A freshly laundered white shirt.

Similar
boiled rag
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Meanings

nounboiled shirt (plural boiled shirts)

plural boiled shirts

  1. datedslangA freshly laundered white shirt.

    Synonyms: boiled rag

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA freshly laundered white shirt.

Similar
boiled rag
Also see
boiled rag

Origin

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."

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

boiled shirt. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/boiled%20shirt

MLA

“boiled shirt.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/boiled%20shirt. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “boiled shirt,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/boiled%20shirt.

Source: boiled shirt on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.