Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
1942, American English slang, the first element probably a nonsense reduplication of suit (compare reet pleat, drape shape from the same jargon).
Wiktionary
n. An outfit featuring a suit with broad shoulders, a long coat, and baggy trousers that taper to a tight fit at the ankles.
WordNet
n. a flashy suit of extreme cut
Wikipedia
A zoot suit (occasionally spelled zuit suit) is a men's suit with high-waisted, wide-legged, tight-cuffed, pegged trousers, and a long coat with wide lapels and wide padded shoulders. This style of clothing became popular among the African-American, Chicano, Filipino American, and Italian American communities during the 1940s. In Britain the "Edwardian-look" suits with velvet lapels worn by Teddy Boys is said to be a derivative of the zoot suit.
Zoot Suit is a play written by Luis Valdez, featuring incidental music by Daniel Valdez and Lalo Guerrero. Zoot Suit is based on the Sleepy Lagoon murder trial and the Zoot Suit Riots. Debuting in 1979, Zoot Suit was the first Chicano play on Broadway. In 1981, Luis Valdez also directed a filmed version of the play, combining stage and film techniques.
Zoot Suit is a 1981 film adaptation of the Broadway play Zoot Suit. Both the play and film were written and directed by Luis Valdez. The film stars Daniel Valdez, Edward James Olmos — both reprising their roles from the stage production —, and Tyne Daly. Many members of the cast of the Broadway production also appeared in the film. Like the play, the film features music from Daniel Valdez and Lalo Guerrero, the "father of Chicano music."
A zoot suit is a style of clothing first popular in the 1930s and 1940s.
Zoot suit may also refer to:
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Zoot Suit (play), a 1979 Broadway play by Luis Valdez
- Zoot Suit (film), a 1981 filmed version of the play
- "Zoot Suit" (song), a 1964 song by The High Numbers, an alternate name for The Who
- Zoot suit (rowing), a one-piece body suit for rowing
Usage examples of "zoot suit".
In '43 De Haven told me she wanted to reform because some Mexican boyfriend of hers got beat up in the zoot suit riots and she wanted to work more efficaciously for the People's Revolt.
The total effect is of old-fashioned diplomatic finery harmoniously wedded to a zoot suit: the raffishness of the ensemble outweighs its formality, but the dignity of the swallowtail and the waistcoat contribute to the whole a regal quality of a specific kind, the regality often seen in African American entertainers and musicians.
Over on Sunset and Figueroa, knots of zooters were assembling in violation of the Zoot Suit Ordinance, no doubt figuring that today it was anything goes.
This was my first look at an actual, honest-to-God, zoot suit outside of old photos, and the whole package was totally killer-diller.
A song some punk outfit recorded whose theme was the zoot suit riots in LA.
The bartender Leon, who was studying to be an actor, ignored me for five minutes while he talked to a girl wearing an eyepatch and a zoot suit.
Elvis had doffed his weatherproof and was now resplendent in the ever-legendary gold lame zoot suit.
He wore a plaid zoot suit with Broadway suspenders down the front of his shirt.