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Glite Dictionary
barber's sign

barber's sign

2.5
A sign with red and white stripes that shows a place where people get haircuts
  • noun
  • /ˈbɑːrbərz saɪn/
translation icon : cartel de barbero
  • The traditional barber's sign featured red and white stripes outside the old building.

Examples

  • Look at that barber's sign with the red and white stripes!

  • The barber's sign swung in the breeze outside the shop.

  • He painted a new barber's sign to attract more customers.

  • I saw a barber's sign outside the shop.

  • The barber's sign outside the shop was spinning in the wind, catching everyone's attention.

  • He noticed the bright barber's sign with its classic red and white stripes as he walked by.

  • Every neighborhood has a barber's sign that marks where customers can get a haircut.

Synonyms

barber's pole
vsbarber's sign
2.9

A pole with red and white spiral stripes that shows where people get haircuts or shaves

is a shop marker with stripes that can be other shapes not only spiral

Surface Forms

barber's sign singular
barber's signs plural

Morphology

barber's + sign

The phrase combines the possessive 'barber's' (related to 'barber') with 'sign', so its meaning—a sign indicating a barber or barber shop—is directly derivable from the constituents; the specific visual detail (red-and-white stripes) is optional background knowledge. This compositional possessive + noun pattern is cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows 'barber' and 'sign' should understand the MWE.

Etymology

The barber's sign comes from old times when barbers did more than cut hair. One popular story says the red and white striped pole showed red for 'blood' and white for 'bandages', so people knew the pole meant a barber 'shop' and today the barber's sign still marks a barber 'shop'.