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Glite Dictionary
to give the shirt off someone's back

to give the shirt off someone's back

1 7.1
So generous that they would give almost everything to help others
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : dar la camisa de uno
  • Many people think he would give the shirt off his back to anyone who asked for help.

Examples

  • He would give the shirt off his back to help anyone in need.

  • When it comes to women and children, he would give the shirt off his back and do anything he could to help them.

    Blog text (24)

  • "She is the kind of person who would give the shirt off her back for a friend in trouble," her colleagues often say.

Synonyms

to sacrifice
vsto give the shirt off someone's back
394 3.4

Give up something important to help someone or reach a goal

is extreme generosity ready to part with almost everything to help others
to give away
vsto give the shirt off someone's back
233 2.0

Hand something to someone without asking for money

is far more selfless ready to part with nearly everything rather than one item

Antonyms

to withhold
210 5.1

Refuse to give something someone wants or needs

selfishness
50 3.0

Caring only about yourself and not about other people

How Generous

to give the shirt off someone's back
  • Informal
1 7.1
giving
1.7
frugal
31 4.9

Surface Forms

give the shirt off someone's back infinitive
gave the shirt off someone's back past
given the shirt off someone's back past participle
giving the shirt off someone's back present participle
gives the shirt off someone's back third person singular

Morphology

give + the + shirt + off + someone's + back

The phrase literally evokes removing and giving someone's shirt from their back, so the image transparently conveys extreme generosity; however this is a conventionalized metaphorical idiom rather than a regular compositional pattern, and the precise pragmatic extent ('willing to give almost everything') may not be fully predictable to all B1 learners without prior exposure. While the constituent meanings help infer generosity, the idiomatic and cultural conventionalization makes the expression only partially transparent.

Etymology

Give the shirt off someone's back comes from a strong picture of a person actually taking off the shirt on their back and giving it to someone else, even if they are left with nothing. So, it means 'very generous' or 'willing to give almost everything to help others'.