Jotham, who has been much in the mountain latterly, being kept there by me and Hiram, has made a discovery, which he will not explain, he says, for he is bound by an oath; but the amount is, that he knows where the ore lies, and he has this day begun to dig.
hair shirt. 1. a garment of coarse haircloth, worn next to the skin as a penance by ascetics and penitents. 2. self-imposed punishment, suffering, sacrifice, or penance. Origin of hair shirt.
2. countable noun. If you say that someone is wearing a hair shirt, you mean that they are trying to punish themselves to show they are sorry for something they have done. No one is asking you to put on a hair shirt and give up all your luxuries.