the shirt off one's back

English

Noun

the shirt off one's back (plural not attested)

1. (idiomatic) Everything currently in the possession of a person.
   • 1991, Richard Preston, American Steel: Hot Metal Men and the Resurrection of the Rust Belt, New York: Prentice Hall Press, →ISBN, page 89:

     "I don't plan on selling my Nuclear shares," replied Lillis. "But I've been on Wall Street for fifty years, and if there's one thing I learned, it's that at the right price I'd sell the shirt off my back."

   • 2009, Dan Houser, Rupert Humphries, Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned, Rockstar Games, Xbox 360, level/area: Roman's Holiday:

     Please, gentlemen. The men in there just took my money. I can't get robbed twice in one day! What do you want, the shirt off my back? Come on.

   • 2014, Linda Goodnight, Cowboy Under the Mistletoe, New York: Harlequin, →ISBN, page 78:

     Though a good guy who'd give the shirt off his back to a friend, Brady Buchanon was a formidable enemy. They all were. Buchanons protected their own.

Usage notes

• Often used with the verb give, but other verbs like want and sell are permitted.

Further reading

• “give the shirt off one's back” in Idioms and phrases, TheFreeDictionary.com, Huntingdon Valley, Pa.: Farlex, Inc., 2003–2024.