bloody shirt

noun

: something intended to stir up or revive partisan animosity
usually used in the phrase wave the bloody shirt

Examples of bloody shirt in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The jury has been shown videos of that trip to Albany Avenue, where investigators also found a bloody shirt and bra. Taylor Hartz, Hartford Courant, 5 Feb. 2024 Pool One of the most emotional moments of the trial was when Prosecutor Michelle Manning held up some of the evidence police recovered from the bags Fotis Dulos had dumped on Albany Avenue, including a bloody shirt that belonged to Jennifer Dulos. Emily Wichick Hourihane, CBS News, 6 Apr. 2024 Maury County Sheriff Luther Wiley claimed that Choate had changed a bloody shirt and hid a .22-caliber pistol used to club the White girl. Timothy Bella, Anchorage Daily News, 19 July 2023 Now remember, the defense suggested that tossing this bloody shirt may have caused some of the blood spatter in the bedroom. CBS News, 16 Apr. 2022 See all Example Sentences for bloody shirt 

Word History

First Known Use

1670, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of bloody shirt was in 1670

Dictionary Entries Near bloody shirt

Cite this Entry

“Bloody shirt.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bloody%20shirt. Accessed 1 Dec. 2024.

More from Merriam-Webster on bloody shirt

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!