shirttail

[ shurt-teyl ]

/ ˈʃɜrtˌteɪl /

the part of a shirt below the waistline.

Journalism. a brief item added at the end of a related newspaper story. Compare follow-up(def 3b).

quite young and immature in behavior.

Chiefly Midland and Southern U.S. of distant relation, especially by marriage: some shirttail cousins I'd never met.

Informal. to append or add (an item) to a discussion or writing: The tariff concessions were shirttailed onto the trade bill.

Origin of shirttail

An Americanism dating back to 1835–45; shirt + tail¹

How ridiculous you are, with your big puffy face, and in your shirt-tail!

A Chambermaid's Diary |Octave Mirbeau
He produced a piece of rock from a knot in his shirt-tail and handed it over to her slowly.

Wunpost |Dane Coolidge
The Shirt-tail battalion and the bluegrass battalion stood in peril of decimation in their maiden engagement.

The Code of the Mountains |Charles Neville Buck
He spent half an hour in stealthily tearing a square foot from his shirt-tail; then, weary and sick, went to sleep.

The Lord of the Sea |M. P. Shiel

She is the brave woman who broke up, or rather burned up, the gambling den in Shirt-Tail Bend.

Pen Pictures |B. F. Craig

shirt-tail

the part of a shirt that extends below the waist