Bankruptcy Barrel: Difference between revisions

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To show that a character is in such dire financial straits that he's literally "lost his shirt," <ref>(though there are times when a character is forced to wear a barrel, not because he's poor, but as makeshift clothing)</ref> the otherwise naked character will resort to [[media:barrel.jpg|wearing a large barrel]] held up with suspenders. Primarily seen in cartoons. This image probably came from a punishment for public drunkenness in Germany and England, where drunks had to wear a booze barrel. It's unclear how barrel wearing became associated with bankruptcy, but the trope stuck.