mess jacket
- noun
- Jargon
:
chaqueta de gala
- The officer wore a distinctive mess jacket to the formal dinner.
Examples
-
The officers looked sharp in their mess jackets.
-
Tailors must ensure each mess jacket fits precisely to maintain a sharp appearance.
-
His mess jacket was adorned with medals and gold trim for the event.
-
He wore a mess jacket to the formal dinner.
-
His mess jacket was adorned with medals and gold trim for the event.
-
The officer wore a distinctive mess jacket to the formal dinner.
-
Tailors must ensure each mess jacket fits precisely to maintain a sharp appearance.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
A short coat that reaches the waist or hips and fastens at the front
A short formal jacket worn by navy officers at dinner
A short waist-length jacket worn by military officers at formal dinners
How Formal
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositional: 'mess' (military dining/hall or meal for service personnel) + 'jacket' (a short coat) yields a jacket associated with the mess or worn for formal mess occasions. This straightforward noun–noun combination follows common naming patterns (e.g. 'dinner jacket') and would be understandable to a B1 learner who knows both constituent words.
Etymology
The term mess jacket comes from the military mess, the dining room where officers ate, and the short jacket they wore to those formal meals. That's why the name now means a waist-length formal jacket worn by officers at the mess.