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Glite Dictionary
to hang out one's shingle

to hang out one's shingle

1 8.4
To start your own business as a professional
  • idiom
  • US
translation icon : abrir un negocio
  • Mr. Badass has just about hung out his shingle.

Examples

  • He met Dierdre, who later became his wife, came to Vermont, and hung out his shingle.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • When he'd hung out his shingle six months ago, he'd fantasized about a Remington Steele lifestyle.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • Go get a PhD and hang out your shingle.

    Blog text (17)

  • I decided to hang out my shingle as a freelance writer.

    Academic text (2002)

  • Look, I've been doing business with Callahan since I hung out my shingle.

    Tommy Boy (1995)

  • In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if Drake hung out his shingle and decided to be a lawyer.

    Blog text (16)

  • He told me that he knew a guy in the army who had gone all the way through law school, passed the bar, and hung out his shingle before he realized he didn't want to be a lawyer.

    Blog text (16)

  • It is a moral dimension of consulting that I really hadn't considered before I hung out my shingle; often, what is in your client's interest isn't in your interest.

    Blog text (26)

  • After years of working in corporate law, she finally decided to hang out her shingle as a solo attorney.

  • After he retired from teaching, he opted to hang out his shingle and offer private tutoring.

Synonyms

to start up
vsto hang out one's shingle
16 3.2

To begin a new business or project

focuses on creating a professional practice specifically often by one person
to go into business for oneself
vsto hang out one's shingle
6 4.2

To start and run your own company instead of working for someone else

focuses on creating a professional practice often alone

Antonyms

to shut down
541 2.9

Stop a machine, business, or system from working

to close down
94 2.9

To stop operating permanently, like a shop or company

How Established

business
∞ 1.0
to hang out one's shingle
  • US
1 8.4
to start up
16 3.2
freelance
14 3.8

Surface Forms

hang out one's shingle infinitive
hanging out one's shingle present participle
hangs out one's shingle third person singular
hung out one's shingle past
hung out one's shingle past participle

Morphology

hang + out + one's + shingle

The meaning is directly derivable from the parts: to 'hang out' a 'shingle' literally means to display a small signboard announcing one's practice, so a learner who knows 'hang', 'out', 'one's' and 'shingle' can infer it means to set up or open a practice. The underlying image (putting out a sign to show you are in business) is culturally common and follows straightforward compositional logic, making it transparent.

Etymology

Hang out one's shingle comes from a simple picture: when a new doctor or lawyer began work they would put a small wooden sign called a shingle outside their office to show they were open. That's why the phrase now means 'to start a business' or 'open a private practice'.