# Between my Kilt and me there is... nothing? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 2, 2003, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/between-my-kilt-and-me-there-is-nothing/192507 "2003-08-02T05:14:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Grousser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9d8465/32.png) [@Grousser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grousser)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2003, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/between-my-kilt-and-me-there-is-nothing/192507/1 "2003-08-02T05:14:42Z")
Someone told me that people from Scotland who use Tartan Skirts, wear nothing under the skirt. Is that true or is it a kind of urban legend? ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2003, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/between-my-kilt-and-me-there-is-nothing/192507/2 "2003-08-02T05:29:38Z")
True. Cecil on [kilts](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a4_211.html). ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2003, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/between-my-kilt-and-me-there-is-nothing/192507/3 "2003-08-02T07:37:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Grousser \* > \*\*Someone told me that people from Scotland who use Tartan Skirts, \*\* I think if you were foolish enough to refer to their kilt as a “skirt” to any Scotsman, you would get informed of the correct name quite promptly & pointedly! ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2003, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/between-my-kilt-and-me-there-is-nothing/192507/4 "2003-08-02T07:52:43Z")
A Scotsman was asked what he wore under the kilt and he answered “your wife’s lipstick”. 🙂 Your answer can be seen [here](http://www.elrellano.com/fotopostal/picantes/ingleses.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2003, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/between-my-kilt-and-me-there-is-nothing/192507/5 "2003-08-02T07:58:29Z")
I remember when that photo came out, in the mid-90s. I believe it was one of the Highland regiments stationed in Hong Kong, wasn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2003, 10:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/between-my-kilt-and-me-there-is-nothing/192507/6 "2003-08-02T10:02:10Z")
Q: “Is anything worn under the kilt?” A: “No, it’s all in working order” ---
**Author:** ![FisherQueen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/58f4c7/32.png) [@FisherQueen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FisherQueen)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2003, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/between-my-kilt-and-me-there-is-nothing/192507/7 "2003-08-02T10:54:40Z")
“What is under your kilt?” “My shoes.” ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2003, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/between-my-kilt-and-me-there-is-nothing/192507/8 "2003-08-02T13:30:48Z")
If you wear any undergarments under your kilt, it is no longer a kilt but a skirt. ---
**Author:** ![UncleBill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/d26b3c/32.png) [@UncleBill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBill)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2003, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/between-my-kilt-and-me-there-is-nothing/192507/9 "2003-08-02T13:32:39Z")
> [@](#): > > There is one firm answer - in Army uniform regulations, though I am told that these differ in detail from one regiment to another. A highland soldier in the kilt is out of uniform if he wears anything under it except when dancing, taking part in the Highland games, or participating as a bandsman. _So You Are Going to Wear the Kilt, Revised 3rd Edition_, by J. Charles Thompson, page 97. ---
**Author:** ![Shade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2bfe46/32.png) [@Shade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shade)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2003, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/between-my-kilt-and-me-there-is-nothing/192507/10 "2003-08-02T13:53:43Z")
It’s just anecdotal evidence, but one of my friends is from Scotland and she said that at her school dance a lot of the men were wearing kilts, and enough with nothing under them that it got embarassing. Of course, we can establish what’s traditional (nothing) and what drunken students wear (nothing), but there’s still the middle ground of normal people 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2003, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/between-my-kilt-and-me-there-is-nothing/192507/11 "2003-08-02T14:25:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Shade \* > \*\*Of course, we can establish what’s traditional (nothing) and what drunken students wear (nothing), but there’s still the middle ground of normal people 🙂 \*\* I think you find “traditional” is what most “normal” people do, though. I had two kilted gentlemen at my wedding - one was a research director for a large pharmaceutical company, and the other a mathematics PhD - both of them were very normal, and neither were panted. ---
**Author:** ![Grousser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9d8465/32.png) [@Grousser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grousser)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2003, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/between-my-kilt-and-me-there-is-nothing/192507/12 "2003-08-02T14:33:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by [t-bonham@scc.net](mailto:t-bonham@scc.net) \* > \*\*I think if you were foolish enough to refer to their kilt as a “skirt” to any Scotsman, you would get informed of the correct name quite promptly & pointedly! \*\* Sorry, I’m mexican, and I was not informed of the correct name. I think you possess more information than me. Thanks to all dopers for your answers, an I apologize to any Scotsman who could be offended! :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Grousser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9d8465/32.png) [@Grousser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grousser)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2003, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/between-my-kilt-and-me-there-is-nothing/192507/13 "2003-08-02T14:37:13Z")
Only for aesthetic purposes: if any Mod cares, he can change the thread’s name to “Between my kilt and me there is… nothing?”. And of course as a small tribute to Brooke Shields. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2003, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/between-my-kilt-and-me-there-is-nothing/192507/14 "2003-08-02T16:48:58Z")
A Scotsman clad in kilt left the bar one evening fair And one could tell by how he walked that he’d drunk more than his share He fumbled 'round until he could no longer keep his feet Then he stumbled out into the grass to sleep beside the street About that time, two young and lovely girls did happen by One said to the other with a twinkle in her eye: See yon sleeping Scotsman! So strong, and handsome built I wonder if it’s true what they don’t wear beneath the kilt? They crept upon that sleeping Scotsman, quiet as can be They lifted up his kilt about and inch, so they could see And there, behold, for them to view beneath his Scottish skirt Was nothing more than God had graced him with upon his birth They marvelled for a moment, then one said, We must be gone Let’s leave a present for our friend before me move along And there the placed a blue silk ribbon, tied up in a bow Around the bonny star the Scot’s kilt did likft and show The Scotsman woke to Nature’s Call, and stumbled toward a tree Behind the bush he lifts his kilt, and gawks at what he sees And in a startled voice he says to what’s before his eyes: O Lad! I don’t know where you’ve been, but I see you’ve won first prize! ---
**Author:** ![John\_Kentzel-Griffin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ccd318/32.png) [@John\_Kentzel-Griffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Kentzel-Griffin)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2003, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/between-my-kilt-and-me-there-is-nothing/192507/15 "2003-08-02T17:05:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Grousser \* > Only for aesthetic purposes: if any Mod cares, he can change the thread’s name to “Between my kilt and me there is… nothing?”. Done. **DrMatrix** - GQ Moderator ---
**Author:** ![rjk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ed655f/32.png) [@rjk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjk)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2003, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/between-my-kilt-and-me-there-is-nothing/192507/16 "2003-08-02T17:13:37Z")
For further research, see the lowbrow-but-funny movie _Carry on Up the Khyber_, about a Scots regiment protecting colonial India from the Afghans. The entire plot revolves around your question. (You may want to leave your good taste at home - everybody else did. But it’s still funny!) ---
**Author:** ![Dogface](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@Dogface](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogface)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2003, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/between-my-kilt-and-me-there-is-nothing/192507/17 "2003-08-02T18:23:43Z")
When a boy’s ready for his _breacán filleadh_ or _feileadh beag_ he leaves behind the garments of infancy, diapers and pants shaped like diapers. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2003, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/between-my-kilt-and-me-there-is-nothing/192507/18 "2003-08-02T18:32:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Dogface \* > \*\*When a boy’s ready for his _breacán filleadh_ or _feileadh beag_ he leaves behind the garments of infancy, diapers and pants shaped like diapers. \*\* So thongs are OK then? Bleaugh. ---
**Author:** ![Nimue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d26b3c/32.png) [@Nimue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nimue)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2003, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/between-my-kilt-and-me-there-is-nothing/192507/19 "2003-08-02T20:17:28Z")
I’m the wife of a Scotsman, got married in Dornoch (8 months before Madonna thankyouverymuch!), and lived in Scotland for several years. I can attest to the fact that, apart from perhaps a few cowardly Americans, kilts are worn the traditional way. Some of the American ladies were threatening to wear mirrors on their shoes… 😛 ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2003, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/between-my-kilt-and-me-there-is-nothing/192507/20 "2003-08-02T21:33:55Z")
On thing I’ve never seen discussed in connection with this topic: Scotland is pretty damned **cold,** isn’t it? Further north than England, which is not known for its tropical clime. I mean, do or did Scottish males walk around outdoors in winter wearing kilts and no undergarments? Hard to believe. The Scottish nation would have gone extinct long ago, from reproductively-strategic frostbite. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/between-my-kilt-and-me-there-is-nothing/192507.md?page=2)