What happens when a person “gets unbelted”?

This word has several meanings. One has to do with clothing and, the other, with behavior.

In the old days, a belt was an important element of attire. A sword was holstered in it and a wallet could be attached to it. If it wasn't fastened properly, a person could lose their savings and, subsequently, be known as a poorly organized person. Others believed in pagan superstitions associated with belts: supposedly, evil spirits could harm a person without one on.

For a long time, this word had only a literal interpretation. But, over time, "to get unbelted" began to be used figuratively, meaning "to become unbridled, impudent and unrestrained". For example, Vladimir Gilyarovsky described the unrestrained spending of Moscow merchants as follows: "…they went straight to the offices, where they immediately got unbelted… Granular caviar was served in silver buckets and arshin-sized sterlets for fish soup were brought straight to the offices, where they were slaughtered…"