wife beater

1. Men's close fitting, ribbed, sleeveless white cotton undershirt most commonly used before T-shirts came into vogue as undergarments. It is named wife beater after Marlon Brando's character, Stanley Kowalski, who wore one during much of the movie version of Tennessee Williams' "A Streetcar Named Desire." Stanley proved to be a sloppy, drunken, ill-tempered brute who beat his wife. 2. Slang name in Britain for a Belgian lager, Stella Artois, mostly because of the name, Stella, after Stella Kowalski, the victim of a beating from her husband, Stanley, in the aforementioned Tennessee Williams' play, "A Streetcar Named Desire," but also because of the high alcohol content which could possibly lead one to wife beating were he so pre-disposed.