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shingle

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hang out your shingle

  (American)

to start your own business, especially as a doctor or a lawyer He hung out his shingle in Brandon many years ago, and has been a lawyer there ever since.

See also: hang, out, shingle

hang out one's shingle

Open an office, especially a professional practice, as in Bill's renting that office and hanging out his shingle next month. This American colloquialism dates from the first half of the 1800s, when at first lawyers, and later also doctors and business concerns, used shingles for signboards.

See also: hang, out, shingle

shit on a shingle

n. creamed chipped beef on toast. (see also creamed foreskins. Military. Usually objectionable.) Oh, no, it’s shit on a shingle again tonight.

See also: on, shingle, shit