hang out/up your shingle

hang out (one's) shingle

To start a business of some kind. I'd be glad to take on your case—after years at that law firm, I'm finally hanging out my shingle.

hang up (one's) shingle

To start a business of some kind. I'd be glad to take on your case—after years at that law firm, I'm finally hanging up my shingle.

hang out your shingle

begin to practise a profession. North American

The main and oldest sense of shingle is ‘a wooden roofing tile’, but in the early 19th century the word developed the more general sense of ‘a piece of board’, while in the USA it also acquired the particular meaning ‘a small signboard’. Literally, hanging out your shingle refers to hanging up a sign that advertises your profession.

hang out/up your ˈshingle

(American English, informal) start to do business from your home, especially as a doctor or a lawyer: After graduating, he decided to hang out a shingle as a consultant.