what is a hair shirt mean
hair shirt. ( hair shirts plural ) 1 n-count A hair shirt is a shirt made of rough uncomfortable cloth which some religious people used to wear to punish themselves. 2 n-count If you say that someone is wearing a hair shirt, you mean that they are trying to punish themselves to show they are sorry for something they have done. No one is asking you to put on a hair shirt and give up all your luxuries.