hair shirt

1. An uncomfortable garment made of coarse hair or other material worn against the skin. Used in some religious rituals as punishment or penance. In ancient times, men would wear a hair shirt as a sign of repentance to their deity for wrongs they had done.

2. By extension, something a person does to intentionally make an aspect of their life uncomfortable or unpleasant, often as a form of penance. I understand that you are sorry for your actions, but there is no need to wear a hair shirt because of it. All is forgiven. A: "Why aren't you eating dessert?" B: "Oh, it's my punishment—my hair shirt, if you will—for blowing off my schoolwork this week."

See also: hair, shirt

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

hair shirt

A self-imposed punishment or penance, as in I apologized a dozen times-do you want me to wear a hair shirt forever? This term, mentioned from the 13th century on, alludes to wearing a coarse, scratchy hair shirt, the practice of religious ascetics. Its figurative use dates from the mid-1800s.

See also: hair, shirt

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

a hair shirt

If someone is wearing a hair shirt, they are deliberately making their life unpleasant or uncomfortable, especially because they feel guilty about something. No one is asking you to wear a hair shirt and give up all your luxuries. Note: Hair-shirt can also be used before a noun. Why adopt such a hair-shirt response to economic difficulty when there are so much more appropriate and comfortable alternatives? Note: In the past, hair shirts were very rough, uncomfortable shirts made from horsehair. People sometimes wore them for religious reasons, to show that they were truly sorry for their sins.

See also: hair, shirt

Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.

hair shirt

A self-imposed punishment or penance. The term comes from the medieval practice of doing penance by wearing a shirt made of coarse haircloth (made from horsehair and wool), mentioned from the thirteenth century on in numerous sources, including Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales (The Second Nun’s Tale). It also appears in a couplet by Alexander Pope (1737), “No prelate’s lawns with hair-shirt lin’d is half so incoherent as my mind.” See also sackcloth and ashes.

See also: hair, shirt

The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer

hair shirt

A self-imposed act of atonement. The wearing of shirts made of unprocessed animal hair or a rough cloth next to the skin dates back to biblical days. The purpose of such an uncomfortable garment was as an expression of faith, a constant reminder that the wearer's sinful flesh was inconsequential compared to a commitment to God. Some members of the nobility wore hair shirts to compensate for the luxury with which they surrounded themselves. Although such mortification of the flesh is rare these days, “hair shirt” survives as a metaphor for self-imposed penitence. A basketball player who takes cold showers for the next month as penance after missing what would have been a game-winning shot has chosen to wear, as it were, a liquid hair shirt.

See also: hair, shirt

Endangered Phrases by Steven D. Price

See also:

a hair shirt
I'll eat my hat
home truth
a home truth
comedy
comedy equals tragedy plus time
humor equals tragedy plus time
lowbrow
(one's) day on a plate
try (something) on for size

References in periodicals archive

More is dressed in regal garb, yet around his neck can be seen the whiteness of a hair shirt worn underneath.

A Passionate Faith

Nobody is apt to want to put on the hair shirt. Do without my computer?

The unthinkable, and Grandma Rogers: would we want to live like she did?

Some of the most effective directors I have known seem to wear a figurative hair shirt, They ask difficult and sometimes embarrassing questions, They challenge the validity of long-held assure options, question the continuance of sacred cows, and reject the popular answer, "because we've always done it this way."...

Twenty years of corporate governance

Its use of exposed concrete and crude system building is positively hair shirt, and has not pleased everyone over the years.

Centraal Beheer revisited

The story goes that after Archbishop Thomas Becket was assassinated at Canterbury Cathedral in 1170, the penitential hair shirt he never removed was found to be swarming with lice.

You say you itch somewhere?

Letter-by-letter Word-by-Word Hair Hair Hair ball Hair ball Hairbrush Hair shirt Hair shirt Hairbrush

CINDEX: a capable indexing package

Don't go thinking the tiddler newly installed under the bonnet means a hair shirt existence; you can have yours with an automatic gearbox (PS20,349) or with Suzuki's ALLGRIP four-wheel drive system (PS20,799) which is serious enough about off-road work to come with hill descent control and a limited slip differential.

New tiddler engine still works hard

Pass the hair shirt. Suspect he'll stick with the silk one.

The hot and the not

Why was it OK for you to eat sugar, but you expect Jesse to eat hair shirt snacks?" At that, I opened the packet and tried one.

A real dog's dinner of a surprise treat, Mum; diary of a single mum

Under Goudge's attentions, Francis's turn toward contemplative life becomes an impressive story of self-denial: he leaves his family, wealth, and comfort, donning a hair shirt and borrowed clothes and weeping over the grandeur of Christ.

My God and My All; The Story of Saint Francis of Assisi

Would even the most publicly spirited investment banker turn down lucrative offers from headhunters and go to work for an institution where he or she would be expected to wear the equivalent of a hair shirt? The Treasury has launched a legal attempt to stop the EU from setting any rules on banking bonuses, a move which will be welcomed by those who want the City of London to once again be the world's preeminent financial centre.

Social justice must shadow prosperity; COMMENT

The Vitara has never been bad in the rough but, like buying a hair shirt for judicial enquiries and wearing it to drinks parties, a price was paid in everyday use.

No rain on your parade in this Suzuki; full chat

Perish the thought, comrade, we're not here for self-aggrandisement - though for me he seems to wear that self-imposed hair shirt rather too comfortably.

Don't abuse your privilege; VIEWPOINTS

It also comes after politicians attempt to work together to plan for December's hair shirt Budget failed miserably just days ago.

FIANNA FAIL SLUMP TO NEW LOW IN POLL; Fine Gael and Labour parties are riding high

However, as a contender for the "hair shirt" post-expenses Parliament, it was perhaps unwise for him to pose outside palatial Croxteth Hall on one of his leaflets.

Is Liverpool about to elect a Lib-Dem MP?

词组	hair shirt
释义	hair shirt hair shirt 1. An uncomfortable garment made of coarse hair or other material worn against the skin. Used in some religious rituals as punishment or penance. In ancient times, men would wear a hair shirt as a sign of repentance to their deity for wrongs they had done. 2. By extension, something a person does to intentionally make an aspect of their life uncomfortable or unpleasant, often as a form of penance. I understand that you are sorry for your actions, but there is no need to wear a hair shirt because of it. All is forgiven. A: "Why aren't you eating dessert?" B: "Oh, it's my punishment—my hair shirt, if you will—for blowing off my schoolwork this week." See also: hair, shirt Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. hair shirt A self-imposed punishment or penance, as in I apologized a dozen times-do you want me to wear a hair shirt forever? This term, mentioned from the 13th century on, alludes to wearing a coarse, scratchy hair shirt, the practice of religious ascetics. Its figurative use dates from the mid-1800s. See also: hair, shirt The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. a hair shirt If someone is wearing a hair shirt, they are deliberately making their life unpleasant or uncomfortable, especially because they feel guilty about something. No one is asking you to wear a hair shirt and give up all your luxuries. Note: Hair-shirt can also be used before a noun. Why adopt such a hair-shirt response to economic difficulty when there are so much more appropriate and comfortable alternatives? Note: In the past, hair shirts were very rough, uncomfortable shirts made from horsehair. People sometimes wore them for religious reasons, to show that they were truly sorry for their sins. See also: hair, shirt Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. hair shirt A self-imposed punishment or penance. The term comes from the medieval practice of doing penance by wearing a shirt made of coarse haircloth (made from horsehair and wool), mentioned from the thirteenth century on in numerous sources, including Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales (The Second Nun’s Tale). It also appears in a couplet by Alexander Pope (1737), “No prelate’s lawns with hair-shirt lin’d is half so incoherent as my mind.” See also sackcloth and ashes. See also: hair, shirt The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer hair shirt A self-imposed act of atonement. The wearing of shirts made of unprocessed animal hair or a rough cloth next to the skin dates back to biblical days. The purpose of such an uncomfortable garment was as an expression of faith, a constant reminder that the wearer's sinful flesh was inconsequential compared to a commitment to God. Some members of the nobility wore hair shirts to compensate for the luxury with which they surrounded themselves. Although such mortification of the flesh is rare these days, “hair shirt” survives as a metaphor for self-imposed penitence. A basketball player who takes cold showers for the next month as penance after missing what would have been a game-winning shot has chosen to wear, as it were, a liquid hair shirt. See also: hair, shirt Endangered Phrases by Steven D. Price See also: a hair shirt I'll eat my hat home truth a home truth comedy comedy equals tragedy plus time humor equals tragedy plus time lowbrow (one's) day on a plate try (something) on for size References in periodicals archive More is dressed in regal garb, yet around his neck can be seen the whiteness of a hair shirt worn underneath. A Passionate Faith Nobody is apt to want to put on the hair shirt. Do without my computer? The unthinkable, and Grandma Rogers: would we want to live like she did? Some of the most effective directors I have known seem to wear a figurative hair shirt, They ask difficult and sometimes embarrassing questions, They challenge the validity of long-held assure options, question the continuance of sacred cows, and reject the popular answer, "because we've always done it this way."... Twenty years of corporate governance Its use of exposed concrete and crude system building is positively hair shirt, and has not pleased everyone over the years. Centraal Beheer revisited The story goes that after Archbishop Thomas Becket was assassinated at Canterbury Cathedral in 1170, the penitential hair shirt he never removed was found to be swarming with lice. You say you itch somewhere? Letter-by-letter Word-by-Word Hair Hair Hair ball Hair ball Hairbrush Hair shirt Hair shirt Hairbrush CINDEX: a capable indexing package Don't go thinking the tiddler newly installed under the bonnet means a hair shirt existence; you can have yours with an automatic gearbox (PS20,349) or with Suzuki's ALLGRIP four-wheel drive system (PS20,799) which is serious enough about off-road work to come with hill descent control and a limited slip differential. New tiddler engine still works hard Pass the hair shirt. Suspect he'll stick with the silk one. The hot and the not Why was it OK for you to eat sugar, but you expect Jesse to eat hair shirt snacks?" At that, I opened the packet and tried one. A real dog's dinner of a surprise treat, Mum; diary of a single mum Under Goudge's attentions, Francis's turn toward contemplative life becomes an impressive story of self-denial: he leaves his family, wealth, and comfort, donning a hair shirt and borrowed clothes and weeping over the grandeur of Christ. My God and My All; The Story of Saint Francis of Assisi Would even the most publicly spirited investment banker turn down lucrative offers from headhunters and go to work for an institution where he or she would be expected to wear the equivalent of a hair shirt? The Treasury has launched a legal attempt to stop the EU from setting any rules on banking bonuses, a move which will be welcomed by those who want the City of London to once again be the world's preeminent financial centre. Social justice must shadow prosperity; COMMENT The Vitara has never been bad in the rough but, like buying a hair shirt for judicial enquiries and wearing it to drinks parties, a price was paid in everyday use. No rain on your parade in this Suzuki; full chat Perish the thought, comrade, we're not here for self-aggrandisement - though for me he seems to wear that self-imposed hair shirt rather too comfortably. Don't abuse your privilege; VIEWPOINTS It also comes after politicians attempt to work together to plan for December's hair shirt Budget failed miserably just days ago. FIANNA FAIL SLUMP TO NEW LOW IN POLL; Fine Gael and Labour parties are riding high However, as a contender for the "hair shirt" post-expenses Parliament, it was perhaps unwise for him to pose outside palatial Croxteth Hall on one of his leaflets. Is Liverpool about to elect a Lib-Dem MP?
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