more life in a tramp's vest

noun

Used in comparisons to indicate that someone or something is devoid of life or animation.

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Meanings

nounmore life in a tramp's vest (uncountable)
  1. UKslanguncountableUsed in comparisons to indicate that someone or something is devoid of life or animation.

    I'd seen more life in a tramp's vest than I had in this lad, and he just sat on the bike totally unconcerned as I approached him on foot.

    2012, Martyn Johnson, What's Tha Up To Nah?
    1 more example

    We had been used to the patter and banter of the Gorbals and, after a particularly dull conversation with one of our new neighbours, my mother told me that she'd 'seen mair life in a tramp's vest'.

    2011, Colin MacFarlane, No Mean Glasgow: Revelations of a Gorbals Guy

Origin

A tramp's vest might be expected to be infested with living things such as fleas.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

more life in a tramp's vest. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/more%20life%20in%20a%20tramp's%20vest

MLA

“more life in a tramp's vest.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/more%20life%20in%20a%20tramp's%20vest. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “more life in a tramp's vest,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/more%20life%20in%20a%20tramp's%20vest.

Source: more life in a tramp's vest on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.