different between shitless vs shirtless

English

Etymology

From shit +? -less.

Adjective

shitless (not comparable)

1. (vulgar) Having an empty bowel; greatly frightened; see usage notes below.

   He was scared shitless.

Usage notes

• This term is primarily found in the verb phrase scare shitless (“to frighten (a person) to the point that he vacates his bowels”) and its participial adjective scared shitless (“frightened to the point that one has vacated one's bowels”). It may be considered a more evocative variant of certain uses of witless and speechless.

See also

• spitless (euphemism)
• witless

English

Etymology

shirt +? -less

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /???tl?s/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /????tl?s/
• Hyphenation: shirt?less

Adjective

shirtless (comparative more shirtless, superlative most shirtless)

1. Without a shirt.

   a shirtless wardrobe

   shirtless sunbathing

2. (chiefly of a man) Not wearing a shirt; having a bare torso.
3. (idiomatic) Very poor. (Can we add an example for this sense?)

Derived terms

• shirtlessly
• shirtlessness

Translations