kipper

[Chrismsmith]

where did the phrase 'stitched up like a kipper' come from

[Quizmonster]

Click http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/F19585?thread=100569
&skip=158 for a relevant website that offers several possible answers...none of them wildly convincing, it has to be said. I myself quite like the idea of the 'kipper tie' which - being so large - has lots more stitching than most ties! It certainly doesn't appear to have anything to do with actual fishy-type kippers, unless one were to stuff them with another delicacy and re-close them before serving them at table.

[Quizmonster]

Just to add to my previous answer...one of the earliest meanings of 'stitch' was to 'stab' or 'pierce'. Kippers are, of course, produced by hanging opened and cleaned herring on rows of hooks - ie stabbing/piercing them - on wooden rods which are then hung up in smokehouses for the fish to be 'cured'. In other words, the phrases 'done up/stitched up like a kipper' are much the same as 'hung out to dry', which also means conned or made into the fall-guy.