# British Dopers: re Torches **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 23, 2010, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-dopers-re-torches/558096 "2010-10-23T13:29:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2010, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-dopers-re-torches/558096/81 "2010-10-29T14:42:23Z")
> [@AWB](#): > > Quite a few terms, depending on the shape: > [ul] > [li]if it has sleeves, it’s called a T-shirt or undershirt. The former is also used for uncollared shirts with artwork or text on them, worn as outer shirts.[/li][li]if it has no sleeves, but it looks like it had had sleeves, it’s called a sleeveless T. This of course makes no sense, because without sleeves, it’s not T-shaped at all.[/li][li]if it has narrow straps at the shoulders, it’s also an undershirt, or sometimes an A-shirt. A slang name is “wife beater”, because of the stereotypical image of lower-class slobs who wear them as a main shirt and are assumed to be spousal abusers.[/li][/ul] The first and third are both also called undershirts. The second one – I haven’t seen this sold or worn as an undershirt. They’re usually worn in the gym or on the beach and are usually called “muscle shirts.” > [@amanset](#): > > To be honest, people wear T-shirts under shirts in the UK and still call them T-shirts. That’s because they are T-shirts that you could happily wear with nothing over them outside of the home. A vest is a more specific form of light undergarment. Usually sleeveless, I’d guess, but probably closer to what AWB described as an A-Shirt. The T-shirts sold as short-sleeve undershirts are not the same type/weight of cloth as the T-shirts sold as outerwear. And they’re almost always white. Sometimes people do wear an undershirt and nothing else (either the T-shirt/short-sleeve or the wife-beater variety) but it’s pretty obvious to the viewer that it’s meant to be worn as an undershirt. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-dopers-re-torches/558096.md?page=4)