to shoot one's linen
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
To display an unneces- sary amount of shirt-cuff; to show off.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “to shoot one's linen” mean?
To display an unneces- sary amount of shirt-cuff; to show off.
Is “to shoot one's linen” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.