button-down

button-down

1. adjective Having or fastened together by buttons, as of a shirt or shirt collar. Primarily heard in US, South Africa. We're going to a nice restaurant for dinner, so be sure to wear a button-down shirt, please!
2. adjective Conservative, unimaginatively conventional, or old-fashioned, as of a person's clothing, attitude, behavior, or beliefs. Primarily heard in US, South Africa. He spent his entire adult life as a button-down clerk, so when he turned 65, he decided it was time for adventure.
3. noun A shirt that has a collar and buttons extending down the full length of its front. Primarily heard in US, South Africa. I've got a date tonight, so I'm going to buy a nice button-down for the occasion.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
See also:
  • buttoned-down
  • lose (one's) shirt
  • lose one’s shirt
  • lose one's shirt
  • lose shirt
  • lose your shirt
  • dicky dirt
  • keep (one's) shirt on
  • keep shirt on
  • Keep your shirt on!
References in periodicals archive
Look for a partial or fully button-down placket, mandarin collar and long sleeve.
But then, practicality and convenience took over, since the button-down shirts (which by the way, since the late 1800s have been called polo shirts because they were worn by English polo players) were the perfect match for ties and no jacket.
A couple of years ago Costco branched out from the basic button-down collar, full-cut offering to a spread collar trim-fit.
Davis, dressed in jeans and a white button-down shirt, narrates the piece from what appears to be a Texas ranch.
It is transformed into sumptuous bed sheets or into made to measure, button-down shirts and that are worn by the worlds rich and famous are sold in glittering high-end stores for small fortunes.
ON EVAN: SHOES: Cole Haan Tucker Venetian in French roast, $145; SUNGLASSES: Wave Killer by Costa Del Mac $219; SHIRT: wrinkle-free green gingham button-down from Reed's Brand, $85; PANTS: Mountain Khakis, $82.95; JACKET: Resolve jacket in triumph green from The North Face, $90; BELT: brown cowhide, $59--Reed's, Tupelo, Columbus, and Starkville, reeds.ms
The button-down shirt is ideal for trips on the boat or to the tiki bar.
For example, there's a little lace waistcoat, a ladies-who-lunch tweed jacket, then a slouchy pair of tomboyfit studded jeans and a menswearstyle striped button-down.
A patriotic Woolrich talks proudly about his range of threads, saying: "When someone walks down the street in a button-down and khakis, the bad guy gets a glimmer of fear, wondering: "Is he packing or not?" The world would be much safer if they were all just thinking of that G-spot.
A white button-down knotted over a wild dress tones things down.
"Sam Genovese, my old high school flame, stood at the door in classic dark slacks and an Oxford blue button-down shirt.
Thankfully, William Okpo, after whom the sisters' new line is named, didn't know that his lifelong attention to clothes, a traditional but meticulously ironed wardrobe of button-down shirts and slacks, had inspired his daughters toward a different path.
As well as the rugby shirts the brand is famous for, highlights of the range include fashionable polo shirts, smart blazers and button-down shirts, a wide selection of jeans and accessories.
Zoe, unfortunately, is not a fan of dressing up in sexy outfits, adding: "But if you dress me in jeans and a button-down blouse, I feel very sexy, feminine and powerful."
The story, just posted on the magazine's Web site, is from contributor Seth Mnookin, who spent two weeks in the bureau and even "grew a beard, and stocked up on loose pants and baggy, button-down short-sleeved shirts in hopes of blending in, even if all that meant was an extra 30 seconds before being picked out in a crowd."