stab-rag

noun

A regimental tailor.

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Meanings

nounstab-rag (plural stab-rags)

plural stab-rags

  1. UKobsoleteslanggovernmentA regimental tailor.

    Corporal Target is at the stab-rag—tailor's, sir. Bein' measured for a new overcoat, sir.

    1943, Stella Gibbons, Ticky, London: Random House, published 2012, →ISBN, page 127
    1 more example

    In conclusion, the bottom on the jacket, and the button-holes, companions thereto, would baffle the criticism of the most hyper-fastidious stab-rag; and the shirt collar, with every other detail—never forgetting the chiaro-scuro—are equal to any of the preceding.

    1841 August 21, “Fine Arts”, in Punch, or the London Charivari, volume 1, page 65

Origin

From stab + rag.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

stab-rag. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/stab-rag

MLA

“stab-rag.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/stab-rag. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “stab-rag,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/stab-rag.

Source: stab-rag on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.