Meaning & use
kipper tie
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountable
A very wide, brightly patterned necktie, popular in the late 1960s and 1970s, that is much broader than a normal tie.
Grammar: Takes a: a kipper tie; plural kipper ties.
Patterns
- wear a kipper tie
- a kipper tie with something
He wore a purple kipper tie to the party.
My father still has a drawer full of kipper ties from the seventies.
The film's costume designer chose kipper ties to set the period.
Word forms
| plural | kipper ties |
|---|
Common combinations
- wide kipper tie
- He knotted a wide kipper tie over his flowered shirt.
- wear a kipper tie
- Few people dare to wear a kipper tie today.
- 1970s kipper tie
- The 1970s kipper tie in the shop window was bright orange.
- patterned kipper tie
- A patterned kipper tie hung from the costume rail.
Synonyms and how they differ
- wide tie
- Is a plain description of any broad necktie, without the 1970s style that kipper tie implies.
- necktie
- Is the general word for any tie, regardless of width or fashion period.
- skinny tie
- Is the opposite shape, very narrow rather than wide.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: kipper tie or bow tie?
kipper tie vs bow tie
A bow tie is tied in a bow shape at the collar; a kipper tie is a long, very wide ordinary necktie.
Practice
A kipper tie is best described as ____.
Choose one answer.
Kipper ties were notably broad and colorful, the fashion of the period. The name is a joke about fish, not a material.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “kipper tie”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.