Meaning
The cotton sack that flour (or sugar or rice) came in — and, in hard times, a precious material. Washed soft and bleached, flour bags were sewn into everyday clothes, sheets, and famously children's underwear ('flour-bag drawers'), a vivid emblem of old-time poverty and thrift. To have worn 'flour-bag drawers' is to have known truly humble beginnings.
Examples
-
Long time, dem sew shirt outta flour bag.
Long ago, they sewed shirts out of flour bags.
-
Him grow up so poor him wear flour-bag drawers.
He grew up so poor he wore flour-bag underwear.
-
Bleach out di flour bag an mek a sheet.
Bleach out the flour bag and make a sheet.
Origin
From 'flour' + 'bag' (the cotton sack); reused as cloth in hard times. See [[crocus-bag]], [[trash-house]].
How it’s used
The cotton flour/sugar sack, reused for cloth; 'flour-bag drawers' = symbol of poverty. See [[crocus-bag]], [[trash-house]].