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stuffed shirt

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stuffed shirt

Someone who is very formal, pompous, or old-fashioned. I had heard he was a bit of a stuffed shirt, but he was very pleasant when I met him, and not pretentious at all.

See also: shirt, stuff

stuffed shirt

An overly formal or pompous person, as in She's such a stuffed shirt that I'm surprised you'd invite her to a barbecue. This expression alludes to a shirt filled with paper (instead of a real person). [c. 1900]

See also: shirt, stuff

stuffed shirt

n. a dull and stuffy person, usually a male. Mr. Wilson is a stuffed shirt, and people would tell him so if he didn’t have so much money.

See also: shirt, stuff