pin-stripedadj.
/ˈpɪnstrʌɪpt/, U.S. /ˈpɪnˌstraɪpt/ 1. Having a pattern of very narrow stripes; = pinstripe adj.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > colour > variegation > stripiness > [adjective] > narrow striped
fibrillose1836
pin-striped1880
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > textile fabric > textile fabric manufactured in specific way > [adjective] > patterned > striped > specific
pirned1494
miled1512
pirnie1597
pinstripe1863
pin-striped1880
1880 Bucks County (Pa.) Gaz. 20 May 2/5 (advt.) Ladies' Pin Striped Hose at 50 cents.
1896 Westm. Gaz. 18 Sept. 3/2 Pin-striped serge, a material that in navy blue with a white line makes a very smart costume.
1909 Westm. Gaz. 4 Sept. 15/1 A gown carried out on a khaki-coloured foundation has a decoration of a pin-striped black and gold collar.
1948 ‘J. Tey’ Franchise Affair x. 110 The male with the sports jacket and the pin-striped trousers.
1990 M. Harris Hemingway's Suitcase xiv. 94 Klipspringer with his glasses and his mechanical intentness, and his low-slung pinstriped car.
2.
a. Of a person: wearing a pinstripe suit; formally dressed in the manner of a businessman or businesswoman.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > wearing clothing > [adjective] > wearing specific pattern or ornamentation
tatteredc1380
arrowed1876
pin-striped1958
society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to type of work > non-manual worker > [adjective] > professional
professional1784
pin-striped1958
1958 New Statesman 3 May 562/3 Small wonder we..are unhappy with the pin-striped Executive of the Labour Party.
1967 Listener 31 Aug. 263/2 The citizen everywhere, pin~striped or dungaree'd, puts his own interests before those of society as a whole.
1991 J. Kingdom Local Govt. & Politics in Brit. v. 68 The areas are not shaped by pin-striped cartographers in Whitehall, they are the outcome of social and political forces.
b. In extended use: befitting or characteristic of a businessman or businesswoman; formal, conventional, conservative.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > customs, values, and civilization > customs, values, or beliefs of a society or group > [adjective] > conventional
conventional1761
straight1941
pin-striped1973
1973 College Eng. 34 577/1 I was arrested along with several dozen respectable citizens to whom the local judge, impressed by our pin-striped façade, almost apologized.
1987 K. Lette Girls' Night Out (1989) 101 He was a MMM (Middle-aged Married Man) with, no doubt, pinstriped morals to match.
2002 Scotl. on Sunday (Nexis) 14 Apr. 7 The rest of British politics has lusted after the pinstriped respectability and generous subventions of shareholders' cash that await the anointed party of business.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2006; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.1880