lose one's shirt

English

Pronunciation

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

Verb

lose one's shirt (third-person singular simple present loses one's shirt, present participle losing one's shirt, simple past and past participle lost one's shirt)

1. (idiomatic) To lose all of one's money; to go broke; to undergo financial ruin or disaster.

   Since nearly losing his shirt in a business deal a few years back, he investigates new opportunities more cautiously.

   • 2010 April 27, “Church bets on power of sponsorship”, in The Guardian‎:

     Generosity indeed, but how difficult will it be for some penitent punters to drop a coin in the "sin box" if they happen to have already lost their shirt on a bet placed with Paddy Power?