Clothes are part of our daily lives, and so are idioms about them! These phrases use clothing to explain feelings, situations, or actions in a fun way. This easy guide will help you understand what these expressions mean and how to use them in sentences.
Clothing Idioms
Here are 20 clothing idioms in English with meaning and example sentence for each.
1. Air one’s dirty laundry
Meaning: Discuss private issues publicly
Example: He aired his dirty laundry at the party.
2. Fit like a glove
Meaning: To fit perfectly
Example: Her new dress fits like a glove.
3. At the drop of a hat
Meaning: Without any hesitation
Example: He left at the drop of a hat.
4. Buckle down
Meaning: Start working seriously
Example: It’s time to buckle down for exams.
5. Dressed to kill
Meaning: Wearing very fashionable clothes
Example: She was dressed to kill at the gala.
6. Tighten one’s belt
Meaning: To spend less money
Example: We need to tighten our belts this month.
7. Pull up your socks
Meaning: Improve your performance
Example: You really need to pull up your socks.
8. Put a sock in it
Meaning: Stop talking
Example: He told her to put a sock in it.
9. Wear many hats
Meaning: To have many roles
Example: She wears many hats at work.
10. On a shoestring
Meaning: With very little money
Example: They started the business on a shoestring.
11. Lose one’s shirt
Meaning: To lose a lot of money
Example: He lost his shirt in the stock market.
12. Roll up one’s sleeves
Meaning: Get ready for hard work
Example: It’s time to roll up our sleeves.
13. Cap it off
Meaning: Finish or complete something
Example: She capped off the meeting with good news.
14. Too big for one’s breeches
Meaning: Behaving too arrogantly
Example: He’s too big for his breeches now.
15. Handle with kid gloves
Meaning: Treat very delicately
Example: Handle the situation with kid gloves.
16. Hat in hand
Meaning: Asking for a favor humbly
Example: He went to his boss hat in hand.
17. Coat of many colors
Meaning: Something with many aspects
Example: His argument was a coat of many colors.
18. All hat and no cattle
Meaning: All talk and no substance
Example: He’s all hat and no cattle.
19. Hang up one’s boots
Meaning: Retire
Example: He finally hung up his boots.
20. Shoe-in
Meaning: A certain winner
Example: She’s a shoe-in for the award.
