English Reference
Idiom idiom

stuffed shirt


One who is pompous or self-important, especially one who is either officious or punctilious in a position of authority.

Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.


SIMPLE

He is such a stuffed shirt at work.

CONTEXTUAL

Nobody invited the manager to the party because he is a total stuffed shirt who ruins the fun.

COMPLEX

The board of directors was filled with stuffed shirts who cared more about rigid protocol than the actual progress of the company.


Related idioms8entries
  1. 01

    funny stuff

    Irregular, often illegal, activities.

  2. 02

    get one's shirt out

    To become angry or annoyed; to lose one's temper.

  3. 03

    hot stuff

    An attractive person. (often used as a come-on or pickup line)

  4. 04

    lose one's shirt

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

  5. 05

    made of sterner stuff

    strong and determined (especially more so than someone else, to whom one is being compared).

  6. 06

    strut one's stuff

    To behave or perform in a showy or ostentatious manner, as if to impress others; to show off.

  7. 07

    stuff it

    An expression of indifference or nonchalance.

  8. 08

    stuff one's face

    To eat excessively.

Last updated August 10, 2026