the.com/monkey suit
A tuxedo, worn by humans who agreed to look identically uncomfortable for one night.
means An informal, slightly mocking term for a tuxedo or other formal, restrictive uniform — clothing you suit up in rather than clothing that fits your life.
from American slang from the late 1800s/early 1900s, when organ grinders kept small dressed-up monkeys in little jackets and caps to perform on street corners — a costumed animal doing tricks for a crowd. The phrase jumped to humans wearing stiff formal wear or uniforms, the joke being that you, too, are now a dressed-up creature performing on command, tugging at a collar you didn't choose.
- origin
- slang from early 1900s organ-grinder monkey costumes
- real meaning
- usually just means tuxedo or formal uniform
- irony
- the more it costs, the less you can move
- military use
- also slang for dress uniforms, equally despised