# Brits, if underpants are "pants", what are pants? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 26, 2016, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-if-underpants-are-pants-what-are-pants/744266 "2016-01-26T15:05:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2016, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-if-underpants-are-pants-what-are-pants/744266/21 "2016-01-26T18:00:40Z")
> [@Alley\_Dweller](#): > > Follow up question: > > If pantyhose in the US are tights in the UK, > what are US tights in the UK? Trousers. What?! :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2016, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-if-underpants-are-pants-what-are-pants/744266/22 "2016-01-26T18:13:42Z")
> [@SpoilerVirgin](#): > > [Mr. Darcy](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Rm25TE-hBUI/UUcqjGSZtNI/AAAAAAAAAKU/p6BqCAnXLMY/s1600/colin.jpg) (beloved breeches-wearing hero of Jane Austen’s _Pride and Prejudice_) Do you suppose Mr. D will be defending himself (and his breeches) from any zombies in the up-coming movie? (Or will he shit his britches?) 😃 ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2016, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-if-underpants-are-pants-what-are-pants/744266/23 "2016-01-26T18:28:53Z")
But do you wear a fanny pack with your pants? ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2016, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-if-underpants-are-pants-what-are-pants/744266/24 "2016-01-26T18:32:05Z")
Good point – if “fanny” is a vagina, is there a different term for a US fanny pack? [http://halliborgfjord.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/fannypack-tourist.jpg](http://halliborgfjord.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/fannypack-tourist.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![RobDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f07891/32.png) [@RobDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobDog)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2016, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-if-underpants-are-pants-what-are-pants/744266/25 "2016-01-26T18:33:42Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > Good point – if “fanny” is a vagina, is there a different term for a US fanny pack? > > [http://halliborgfjord.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/fannypack-tourist.jpg](http://halliborgfjord.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/fannypack-tourist.jpg) Bum bag. ---
**Author:** ![Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Springtime_for_Spacers)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2016, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-if-underpants-are-pants-what-are-pants/744266/26 "2016-01-26T18:48:16Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > Good point – if “fanny” is a vagina, is there a different term for a US fanny pack? > > [http://halliborgfjord.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/fannypack-tourist.jpg](http://halliborgfjord.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/fannypack-tourist.jpg) Inexplicably Bum bag, as they are usually worn with the bag at the front. Bum being yer backside, arse or ass, not a tramp or a hobo. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2016, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-if-underpants-are-pants-what-are-pants/744266/27 "2016-01-26T18:48:45Z")
> [@MoonMoon](#): > > Tights are tights and pantyhose are stockings. That mirrors the US, though, because I don’t know anyone who calls them pantyhose (::shudder:🙂 anymore. I thought stockings and pantyhose were different things. Stockings being a separate item for each leg, like super long socks, that stop at the upper thigh, while pantyhose are a one piece item that go up to your waist. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2016, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-if-underpants-are-pants-what-are-pants/744266/28 "2016-01-26T19:04:48Z")
> [@Richard\_Pearse](#): > > I thought stockings and pantyhose were different things. Stockings being a separate item for each leg, like super long socks, that stop at the upper thigh, while pantyhose are a one piece item that go up to your waist. I’m an American woman who wears pantyhose, and until today I would have agreed with **Richard Pearse’s** explanation. I was about to post that it still says pantyhose on the package, but then I checked the package. Nowhere does it say either pantyhose or stockings. It says “all-day sheers”. A department store search for pantyhose brings up two options: tights, which are opaque, and sheers, which are semi-transparent. These two terms seem to apply whether the items are one piece or two pieces. So ignorance fought once again, and I guess I wear sheers. ---
**Author:** ![SirRay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@SirRay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SirRay)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2016, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-if-underpants-are-pants-what-are-pants/744266/29 "2016-01-26T19:07:28Z")
> [@Richard\_Pearse](#): > > I thought stockings and pantyhose were different things. Stockings being a separate item for each leg, like super long socks, that stop at the upper thigh, while pantyhose are a one piece item that go up to your waist. Being a man who knows little about women’s hosiery (except they make women’s legs more attractive looking), but knowing Tesco might make a good UK baseline of everyday common-place women’s fashions, [I located this link](http://www.clothingattesco.com/lingerie+underwear/womens-hosiery/icat/womens-hosiery). Apparently in Tesco-land tights are pantyhose, and stockings are “Hold-Ups”, although I expect that refers to stockings with elastic tops which don’t require the use of garter belts (aka suspenders - I suppose what Yuppie males in the 1980s and farm labourers in the 1940s wore were “braces”). I’m beginning to suspect that Benny Hill lied to us viewers, and that every young British woman did not wear a full set of stockings, suspenders, and other lacy underthings no matter what the occasion (particularly those occasions where they needed to bend over or were in danger of getting their skirt torn off…) ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2016, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-if-underpants-are-pants-what-are-pants/744266/30 "2016-01-26T19:13:14Z")
^ ::wolf-whistle:: “Yakkety Sax” begins ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2016, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-if-underpants-are-pants-what-are-pants/744266/31 "2016-01-26T19:23:31Z")
> [@RobDog](#): > > “Trouser” can be used as a verb to mean “secrete away”. Usually money, and usually nefariously. Not necessarily secrete, just a variant on “pocketed”, implying it was an excessive return for the work involved, not necessarily dishonestly come by. ---
**Author:** ![RobDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f07891/32.png) [@RobDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobDog)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2016, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-if-underpants-are-pants-what-are-pants/744266/32 "2016-01-26T19:31:51Z")
> [@PatrickLondon](#): > > Not necessarily secrete, just a variant on “pocketed”, implying it was an excessive return for the work involved, not necessarily dishonestly come by. Well, obviously I must bow to your superior knowledge of all things gangland-slang related, **Patrick “The Hat” London** 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2016, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-if-underpants-are-pants-what-are-pants/744266/33 "2016-01-26T19:40:05Z")
If anyone wants to venture beyond the Anglosphere for a second: In Swedish, “[trosor](https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trosor)” (cognate of trousers) are ladies’ undergarments. [Trosa](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trosa), on the other hand, is a charming Swedish town. Which I find hilarious, since I have a five-year-old’s sense of humor. (There was a mix-up. If you can find me a five-year-old, I’d be happy to give it back.) Don’t ask me about pants in Swedish. Real Scandinavians don’t wear pants. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2016, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-if-underpants-are-pants-what-are-pants/744266/34 "2016-01-26T20:44:37Z")
> [@SirRay](#): > > I’m beginning to suspect that Benny Hill lied to us viewers, and that every young British woman did not wear a full set of stockings, suspenders, and other lacy underthings no matter what the occasion (particularly those occasions where they needed to bend over or were in danger of getting their skirt torn off…) Young Mr. Grace’s nurses and secretaries would disagree with you, SirRay. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2016, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-if-underpants-are-pants-what-are-pants/744266/35 "2016-01-26T20:46:58Z")
> [@RobDog](#): > > Bum bag. Handy place to keep your fags. ---
**Author:** ![RobDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f07891/32.png) [@RobDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobDog)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2016, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-if-underpants-are-pants-what-are-pants/744266/36 "2016-01-26T20:52:49Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Handy place to keep your fags. Ooooh, ere, no don’t missus – Howerd, F ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2016, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-if-underpants-are-pants-what-are-pants/744266/37 "2016-01-26T21:36:36Z")
Ah well, now we’re into the kind of British menu where [http://mrbrains.co.uk/products/](http://mrbrains.co.uk/products/) can be followed by [http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/2686661/spotted-dick](http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/2686661/spotted-dick) ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2016, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-if-underpants-are-pants-what-are-pants/744266/38 "2016-01-26T21:56:45Z")
Yeah, pants-snake just doesn’t have the same ring to it. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2016, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-if-underpants-are-pants-what-are-pants/744266/39 "2016-01-26T22:44:47Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > Weren’t those called “jodhpurs”? My relatives in the South still use the word “britches” but I think that’s for underwear (as in “shit yer britches”). I’m just being a pest, here. 😉 > > Please explain “Mr. Darcy” reference? On this one subject I can speak with authority, as my family are in the riding wear business. Jodhpurs are ankle length, with turn ups at the ankle, and are worn with short, ankle length jodhpur boots. Breeches are calf length, and wrap tightly round the calf to fit snugly inside knee length riding boots. Mr Darcy is the make hero in Jane Austin’s book Pride and Prejudice, when breeches were routine leg wear for men. ---
**Author:** ![SirRay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@SirRay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SirRay)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2016, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-if-underpants-are-pants-what-are-pants/744266/40 "2016-01-26T22:54:11Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > Young Mr. Grace’s nurses and secretaries would disagree with you, SirRay. “You’ve all done very well!” And with that in mind, thinking back over the run that “fine” show about the antics in Grace Brothers department store among the staff in “Men’s Wear” and Ladies Intimate Apparel (apparently hats are classed as intimate), can’t say I recall if the characters ever said “pants” - they did say “Y-fronts” often enough, and I think underwear as well. As for (Americanlish) pants, they probably only said “Trousers” on the show, but since that’s a common enough (if a bit formal) term in the US, it didn’t register on me. I guess I could re-watch some AYBS episodes, but after watching them in repeats for too many years, I really don’t want to… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-if-underpants-are-pants-what-are-pants/744266.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-if-underpants-are-pants-what-are-pants/744266.md?page=3)