E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
Skirt.
To sit upon one’s skirt. To insult, or seek occasion of quarrel. Tarlton, the clown, told his audience the reason why he wore a jacket was that “no one might sit upon his skirt.” Sitting on one’s skirt is, like stamping on one’s coat in Ireland, a fruitful source of quarrels, often provoked.
