Idiom | Give Someone the Shirt off Your Back |
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Example | Mr. Perez would give you the shirt off of his back if you needed it. |
Meaning | to be extremely generous |
Origin | First used in the 1770s, this idiom is almost self-explanatory. If you saw a needy person in the street who was cold because he had no shirt, and you actually took your own shirt off and gave it to him, it would be an act of great kindness. Today, if you perform any act of self-sacrifice, we say it's like "giving the shirt off your back to someone." |
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