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Iclearwater Posted 9 years ago
Vocabulary

With the shirt on your back

Bargaining with a big nut amounts to negotiating with your back to the wall. You know you've got huge expenses to meet. And your demeanor usually betrays your desperation enough for the other party to sense it too. With such minuscule leverage, you'll be lucky to walk away from the situation with the shirt on your back.

Hi, Would anyone explain the following questions?

Q1: What does "with shirt on your back"mean in the contex in blue? Is that an idiom?

Q2: About "give you his shirt off his back", I am wondering why it is "off his back", but not off his body. Is this explanable? I know this idiom refers to give everything including his shirt he has to you,

PS. the big nut which a metaphor refers to his monthly overhead, i.e. rent, utilities fee, car note, ect.

Thanks!

  

Top answer

iclearwater Q1: What does "with shirt on your back"mean in the context in blue? Is that an idiom? Yes.

— Mister Micawber

  • iclearwater Q1: What does "with shirt on your back"mean in the context in blue?
  • Is that an idiom?
  • Yes.
  • It means 'the absolute minimum'.
  • If I leave a casino with only the shirt on my back, it means that I lost all of my money.
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1 Answers
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iclearwaterQ1: What does "with shirt on your back"mean in the context in blue? Is that an idiom?

Yes. It means 'the absolute minimum'. If I leave a casino with only the shirt on my back, it means that I lost all of my money.

iclearwaterQ2: About "give you his shirt off his back", I am wondering why it is "off his back", but not
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