# Cuffs & collar not match?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cuffs-collar-not-match/122840>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [August 7, 2002, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cuffs-collar-not-match/122840 "2002-08-07T20:57:48Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\
**Post date:** [August 7, 2002, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cuffs-collar-not-match/122840/1 "2002-08-07T20:57:48Z")

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Okay, I know what this is a euphemism for, a woman who dyes her hair (sometimes ‘curtains & carpet’ is used).

But did it ever really mean anything, literally? Being that the cuffs and collar are both part of your shirt, unless you’re wearing two shirts how could they not match? 😕

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**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\
**Post date:** [August 7, 2002, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cuffs-collar-not-match/122840/2 "2002-08-07T21:02:40Z")

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Once upon a time, collars were buttoned onto collarless shirts. They were usually made of stiffer material than the shirts, and were removed for laundering.

A swank gentleman might own collars in many colors, so as to allow shirts with a wider variety of cuffs. A loser would buy a collar that didn’t match any of his shirts.