monkey jacket

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

mon′key jack′et, 

1. Clothing a short, close-fitting jacket or coat, formerly worn by sailors.

• so called from its resemblance to a jacket worn by an organ-grinder's monkey 1820–30

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

monkey jacket noun

1. a short close-fitting jacket, esp a waist-length jacket similar to a mess jacket