# Is hoodie a well-known term? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 15, 2015, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-hoodie-a-well-known-term/734733 "2015-10-15T16:57:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2015, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-hoodie-a-well-known-term/734733/21 "2015-10-15T22:52:18Z")
> [@wguy123](#): > > Red hooded sweatshirt. > > Dip dip dip > > Shamalamadingdong! [My thoughts exactly.](http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/weekend-update-adam-sandler-valentines-day-song/n10390) ---
**Author:** ![Aquadementia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aquadementia/32/555_2.png) [@Aquadementia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aquadementia)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2015, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-hoodie-a-well-known-term/734733/22 "2015-10-16T01:39:29Z")
I’ve heard Belichick referred to by that word and that’s when I noticed it was used all around. It sounds babyish , like if grown men started referring to boots as booties. I wouldn’t want a hooded sweatshirt now because of what people call it. ---
**Author:** ![Arrendajo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Arrendajo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arrendajo)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2015, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-hoodie-a-well-known-term/734733/23 "2015-10-16T01:52:21Z")
> [@Spiderman](#): > > IMO: > [ul] > [li] **Hoodie:** Pullover sweatshirt, with a hood, & a large, double-ended pocket in the front. [/li][li] **Zippered sweatshirt:** similar to above, but with a full-length zipper, which bisects the pockets.[/li][li] **Sweatshirt:** hoodie, zippered sweatshirt, or crewneck sweatshirt.[/li][/ul] My young adult son prefers the full length zipper style with a hood, which he and his friends refer to as a hoodie. Lately though he had taken to wearing a trilby, so doesn’t need a hoodie much. Is a cross between a hipster and a hippie a hipstie? Just wonderin’. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2015, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-hoodie-a-well-known-term/734733/24 "2015-10-16T02:05:27Z")
> [@Rodgers01](#): > > My guess is that the term is well known, but when people are ordering something from an online shop (which is what I gather the OP does?) they think the term “hoodie” is not a technical enough term for the item they’re looking for, so they ask for a “sweatshirt” or “hooded sweatshirt.” I know that if I were to be searching on Amazon or someplace for a hoodie, I would probably search under “sweatshirt.” As a lark, I did a search for “hoodie” on Amazon. I got 2,700,000 results. ---
**Author:** ![Mudshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Mudshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mudshark)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2015, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-hoodie-a-well-known-term/734733/25 "2015-10-16T06:14:55Z")
To me, a hoodie is a pullover sweatshirt. If I want one without a hood, it’s just a sweatshirt. If it zips up, its a hooded jacket. A hoodie is always a sweatshirt, but a sweatshirt is not always a hoodie. ---
**Author:** ![Ken001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/43a26b/32.png) [@Ken001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ken001)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2015, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-hoodie-a-well-known-term/734733/26 "2015-10-16T08:02:40Z")
A “hoodie” is a home boy, a bro in da hood. Neighborhood. Obvious. > **[Boyz n the Hood (1991) - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101507/)** > > Boyz n the Hood: Directed by John Singleton. With Hudhail Al-Amir, Lloyd Avery II, Angela Bassett, Miya McGhee. Follows the lives of three young males living in the Crenshaw ghetto of Los Angeles, dissecting questions of race, relationships,... ---
**Author:** ![TheSpeculationElucidation](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@TheSpeculationElucidation](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheSpeculationElucidation)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2015, 10:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-hoodie-a-well-known-term/734733/27 "2015-10-16T10:14:17Z")
I think hoodie, sweatshirt/pullover, and sweater all mean different things (also raincoat, zipup, and parka mean different things). I don’t know. Everyone knows exactly what I’m talking about whenever I use each. I only wear hoodies and zipup hoodies. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2015, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-hoodie-a-well-known-term/734733/28 "2015-10-16T15:09:22Z")
“Hoodie” is a slang word for one subtype of sweatshirt. If the OP is an order-taker for a clothing sales company, it’s hardly surprising that customers are trying to use precise terminology to get what they really want, not what they fear someone will misunderstand. The OP needs to use exactly the words in the company catalog and no others, at least while at work. The idea that the word “sweatshirt” necessarily means a hoodless garment is purely the OP’s personal definition of the word. IOW, the OP is setting him/herself up for a miscommunication with the customers. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2015, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-hoodie-a-well-known-term/734733/29 "2015-10-16T16:02:47Z")
I don’t recall when I first heard it, but I didn’t really take notice of it until it became Belichick’s trademark, and then more so later with the Martin homicide. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2015, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-hoodie-a-well-known-term/734733/30 "2015-10-16T23:41:25Z")
Hoodie’s been an extremely common term since at least the 80’s. I’m thinking it started with the rappers. In any event, it was definitely the common name for them by the end of the decade, though, at least with younger people. I’m sure the old folks that were calling pants trousers and jeans dungarees were probably slower to catch on to the term (if at all). ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2015, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-hoodie-a-well-known-term/734733/31 "2015-10-16T23:52:43Z")
For me, when I say “sweatshirt,” I mean a non-hooded sweatshirt. If I wanted a hooded sweatshirt, I specify it either as a “hoodie” or a “hooded sweatshirt.” I can’t say with any certainty when I started using the word “hoodie.” I feel like it’s been more than a decade, but I have no idea. The jacket I specify it as such. I’ve called it a “sweat jacket” before, but that’s just my own vocabulary, I think, as I’m not sure I know anyone else who uses that phrase. ---
**Author:** ![magnusblitz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@magnusblitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magnusblitz)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2015, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-hoodie-a-well-known-term/734733/32 "2015-10-17T01:00:45Z")
Hoodie is a well-known term, but I think it’s just a subset of sweatshirts rather than its own separate thing. Like squares and rectangles. ---
**Author:** ![escaped](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/848f3c/32.png) [@escaped](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/escaped)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2015, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-hoodie-a-well-known-term/734733/33 "2015-10-17T01:53:18Z")
Yes now it is for better or for worse… ---
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2015, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-hoodie-a-well-known-term/734733/34 "2015-10-17T05:51:46Z")
Hoodie is common usage here in Australia - I have a few, I call them hoodies, no one has ever said “Your _what_?” when I’ve done so. I hear the word used in conversation regularly. “Sweatshirt” is considered an obnoxious Americanism, on the other hand. ---
**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:** [October 17, 2015, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-hoodie-a-well-known-term/734733/35 "2015-10-17T06:01:44Z")
> [@Shakester](#): > > Hoodie is common usage here in Australia - I have a few, I call them hoodies, no one has ever said “Your _what_?” when I’ve done so. I hear the word used in conversation regularly. > > “Sweatshirt” is considered an obnoxious Americanism, on the other hand. Then how do Aussies refer what we Yanks call a crew-neck pullover sweatshirt? ---
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2015, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-hoodie-a-well-known-term/734733/36 "2015-10-17T06:26:21Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > Then how do Aussies refer what we Yanks call a crew-neck pullover sweatshirt? “Pullover” would be the common term. Or just call it a “top”. When I was a kid they used to be called “windcheaters” but that name seems to have been reassigned to zip-up jackets at some point in the last few decades. Zip-up tops usually have hoods here, so they’re just called “hoodies” - I don’t think there is an actual common vocabulary word for a zip-up non-hooded top. As a cite, [here is the relevant page](http://www.bonds.com.au/mens/clothing/pullover.html) from the Bonds website, Bonds being the iconic Australian brand for that sort of thing. They use the term “Sloppy Joes” as well, but that’s not so widely used in my experience. You’ll notice that the word sweatshirt is nowhere used on the site, but they have a whole page full of [hoodies](http://www.bonds.com.au/mens/clothing/hoodies.html). Calling items of clothing “sweaters” and “sweatshirts” and, dog help us, “sweatpants” and so on - it really looks like Americans have an obsession with sweat. OK, we all sweat on occasion, there’s no need to brag about it. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2015, 9:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-hoodie-a-well-known-term/734733/37 "2015-10-17T09:26:01Z")
[Hug a Hoodie](http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-13669826). ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2015, 9:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-hoodie-a-well-known-term/734733/38 "2015-10-17T09:28:17Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > Then how do Aussies refer what we Yanks call a crew-neck pullover sweatshirt? Same with the Brits and Sweatshirt. We’d call them a sweater, pullover or jumper. I have no idea if there are any distinctions between what are each of those, I’ve never really thought about it. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2015, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-hoodie-a-well-known-term/734733/39 "2015-10-17T13:28:44Z")
I’ve known it as a term for a hooded sweatshirt for a long time. And, thanks to _Hot Fuzz_ I also know it’s used as a term for potentially miscreant youths who wear them. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2015, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-hoodie-a-well-known-term/734733/40 "2015-10-17T14:24:01Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > “Hoodie” is a slang word for one subtype of sweatshirt. > > If the OP is an order-taker for a clothing sales company, it’s hardly surprising that customers are trying to use precise terminology to get what they really want, not what they fear someone will misunderstand. The OP needs to use exactly the words in the company catalog and no others, at least while at work. > > The idea that the word “sweatshirt” necessarily means a hoodless garment is purely the OP’s personal definition of the word. IOW, the OP is setting him/herself up for a miscommunication with the customers. Read more carefully. They aren’t specifying what they want. They are saying “sweatshirt” for both, without specifying anything else, and he has to confirm whether they want one with or without a hood. The OP was not remotely unclear in this, so I don’t think it makes sense to lecture him on communication. > [@](#): > > However, the majority of my clients use “sweatshirt” for everything when ordering. I always confirm what they’re actually looking for because they will simply use the term sweatshirt **without specifying whether they want crew-neck or hooded** , and it’s generally 50/50 as to which they want. Why they **never open with, “hooded sweatshirt”, “sweatshirt with a hood” or, “hoodie”** is a mystery to me. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-hoodie-a-well-known-term/734733.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-hoodie-a-well-known-term/734733.md?page=3)