shirt off someone's back
- idiom
- Informal
:
dar la camisa de uno
- Whenever someone is in trouble, she would gladly give the shirt off her back to help.
Examples
-
He is the kind of person who would give you the shirt off his back if you needed it.
-
Give you the shirt off his back.
-
That man would give the shirt off his back to ensure his friends are taken care of.
Synonyms
1
7.1
So generous that they would give almost everything to help others
Giving money or help freely without holding back
A person who gives money, time, or help freely to others
Willing to share money, time, or help with others
Antonyms
How Generous
Surface Forms
Morphology
shirt + off + someone's + back
The expression creates a clear literal image — removing a shirt from someone's back to give it — so a learner who knows 'shirt', 'off', 'someone's' and 'back' can infer a sense of giving or donating personal possessions. However, the idiomatic, hyperbolic meaning 'extremely generous; willing to give anything' is a figurative extension that is not fully predictable from the parts alone, so it is only partially transparent.
Etymology
Shirt off someone's back paints a clear picture: someone taking the shirt right off a person's back, leaving them with nothing to wear. So it means 'willing to give anything to help others'.