hair shirt

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

And that gave birth to the worst Wolverine, which also gave birth to the idea that the suit is a hair shirt.

From Los Angeles Times

“You don’t have to be vegan or take cold showers or wear a hair shirt, but just consuming less things is really helpful for the environment,” she said.

From Seattle Times

This is a coming-of-age story in which the transition from adolescence to adulthood is akin to swapping one hair shirt for another.

From Washington Post

He wore his perfectionism like a hair shirt, and he expected it of others.

From New York Times

Sam dons the hair shirt in this novel, but his coiled, bitter angst is tempered somewhat by his sense of humor, as satirical as it is self-aware.

From New York Times