Shirtgate
name, slang
name, slang ·Uncommon ·College level
Definitions
Proper Noun
- 1 A 2014 controversy in which a shirt worn by scientist Matt Taylor at an informal interview associated with the European Space Agency landing of a probe on a comet was branded sexist by some viewers on social media. informal
"The backfiring of Shirtgate created a temporary pause in the Big Panic, and revealed a basic truth. Most people appeared to have no objection to the kinds of expression that were now being presented as sexist."
Example
More examples"The backfiring of Shirtgate created a temporary pause in the Big Panic, and revealed a basic truth. Most people appeared to have no objection to the kinds of expression that were now being presented as sexist."
Etymology
From shirt + -gate.
Related phrases
More for "shirtgate"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.