(one's) best bib and tucker

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(one's) best bib and tucker

One's dressiest or most formal attire. A "bib" and a "tucker" are now-outdated clothing embellishments. Be sure to wear your best bib and tucker to the gala tonight.

See also: and, bib, tucker

one's best bib and tucker

Rur. one's best clothing. I always put on my best bib and tucker on Sundays. Put on your best bib and tucker, and let's go to the city.

See also: and, bib, tucker

best bib and tucker

One's finest clothes, dressed up, as in The men were told to put on their best bib and tucker for the dinner dance. Although wearing either a bib (frill at front of a man's shirt) or a tucker (ornamental lace covering a woman's neck and shoulders) is obsolete, the phrase survives. [Mid-1700s] For a synonym, see Sunday best.

See also: and, bib, tucker

your best bib and tucker

OLD-FASHIONED

If you are wearing your best bib and tucker, you are wearing very smart, formal clothes. The conference guests all turned up on time in their best bib and tucker. Note: In the past, a `bib' was the part of an apron which covered the chest. A `tucker' was a decorative part of a woman's dress, covering her neck and shoulders.

See also: and, bib, tucker

your best bib and tucker

your best clothes. informal

Bib and tucker originally referred to certain items of women's clothing. A bib is a garment worn over the upper front part of the body (e.g. the bib of an apron), and a tucker was a decorative piece of lace formerly worn on a woman's bodice.

See also: and, bib, tucker

your best bib and ˈtucker

(humorous) your best clothes that you only wear on special occasions: Bill put on his best bib and tucker and booked a table at a top restaurant for a romantic dinner.

Bib and tucker are both items of clothing worn in the past.

See also: and, bib, tucker