# panties/ underwear? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 18, 2000, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/panties-underwear/33658 "2000-09-18T21:31:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Geek\_Mecha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecae2f/32.png) [@Geek\_Mecha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Geek_Mecha)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2000, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/panties-underwear/33658/21 "2000-09-19T06:54:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by NothingMan \* > **Audrey, BNL kicks ass !!** Glad someone got the reference! Now try this one: “You’re the priestess, I must confess, Those little red panties, they pass the test…” Perhaps it depends on what type you wear? I think of mine as ‘underwear’, but maybe if they were satin and lace (or something) rather than cotton, I’d be more likely to call them ‘panties’? ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2000, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/panties-underwear/33658/22 "2000-09-19T12:18:03Z")
I think of underwear as anything you wear under your clothes: panties, bra, slip, T-shirt, men’s shorts, whatever. ---
**Author:** ![vanilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f19dbf/32.png) [@vanilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vanilla)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2000, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/panties-underwear/33658/23 "2000-09-19T13:10:02Z")
I say underwear, but have always wondered where "bloomers’ came from. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2000, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/panties-underwear/33658/24 "2000-09-19T15:16:31Z")
OK men, it’s serious. Someone said ‘bloomers’ 😃 From an English dictionary: panties - legless\* underpants worn by women\*\* knickers - women’s undergarment covering the body from the waist to the top of the thighs, and having separate legholes (also slang for an expression of contempt) bloomers - women’s loose-fitting almost knee length knickers (apparently named after Mrs. Bloomer, an American social reformer) trousers - outer garment from waist to ankles, divided in two to cover the legs (singular: a pair of trousers) trouser suit - women’s suit of trousers and jacket \*also slang for drunk \*\*so what do men wear? The dictionary claims that pants is a US word. It also says shorts is US for underpants - it’s English for knee-length trousers I can do you some archaic stuff about pantaloons etc, if you ask nicely 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Sea\_Sloth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Sea\_Sloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sea_Sloth)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2000, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/panties-underwear/33658/25 "2000-09-19T16:10:41Z")
Sorry Green Bean, but the only undergarment term I despise more than panties is “underpants.” I don’t know what the revulsion is all about. It makes me think of trying on bathing suits in a store with my dad when I was a little kid and him saying “Make sure you leave your underpants on.” Eeeew. As for “panties,” that word is just way too cutesy cute. I only wear one kind of underwear. They don’t have lace, they aren’t silk, and you can’t see through them. They are size 5, cotton, string bikinis in black, white, blue or grey. They are small and sexy but I would definitely not call them “panties.” They’re my undies. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2000, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/panties-underwear/33658/26 "2000-09-19T16:12:00Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by AudreyK \* > “You’re the priestess, I must confess, > Those little red panties, they pass the test…” I _love_ that song! (Third Eye Blind, of course.) Like Annie, I think of ‘underwear’ as being a generic term encompassing underpants of all sorts, t-shirts, bras, slips, and so forth. ---
**Author:** ![Skummet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Skummet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skummet)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2000, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/panties-underwear/33658/27 "2000-09-19T16:44:50Z")
**Audrey** BnL and 3eb kicks ASS!!! 🙂 Just got Maroon today as it happens 🙂 and ill be seeing them live for the first time Oct. 30th in TN… i cant wait!!! 🙂 Wish i could see 3eb live too… U know they just toured… did u go to one of their shows ? i saw them do a 45 minute thing at the HFStival in DC but thats it… Adrey… u need to set up a fave music topic type thing or something coz i think u got the coolest taste! 🙂 As fr the topic of this thread… well i personally find the term panties sexy… actually when i first learned english i thought the word underwear just was a broad term for bras and panties like the word is in danish… i think its weird that it only refers to panties really… ---
**Author:** ![betenoir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@betenoir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betenoir)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2000, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/panties-underwear/33658/28 "2000-09-19T18:05:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Sea Sloth \* > \*\*As for “panties,” that word is just way too cutesy cute. \*\* Yeah. That’s it. That’s the problem. Because as has been mentioned, “panties” has sexual connotations. And either: A: this is not relavent like when I’m getting dressed for work. or B: it is relavent, in which case, I, myself, personally, am not feeling cutesy cute. Of course that’s just me. ---
**Author:** ![mega\_the\_roo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3da27b/32.png) [@mega\_the\_roo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mega_the_roo)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2000, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/panties-underwear/33658/29 "2000-09-19T18:05:32Z")
Just chimed in to give underwear a vote. The end. ---
**Author:** ![jesuslynch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e99b99/32.png) [@jesuslynch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jesuslynch)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2000, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/panties-underwear/33658/30 "2000-09-19T18:56:24Z")
I muchly prefer the word **Drawers**. ---
**Author:** ![NothingMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b77776/32.png) [@NothingMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NothingMan)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2000, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/panties-underwear/33658/31 "2000-09-19T19:07:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ruffian \* > \*\*However, I much prefer “thong.” 😉 \*\* **Ruffy** , have I told you lately that I love you ? MMMMMMMMMMM, thongs. (Homer Simpson drool added.) \*She had dumps like a truck . . . \* You honestly I never got that line, but then Sisco is not exactly John Lennon is he ? - **NM** ---
**Author:** ![voguevixen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5ac83/32.png) [@voguevixen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voguevixen)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2000, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/panties-underwear/33658/32 "2000-09-19T19:47:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Fretful Porpentine \* > \*\* > As for the OP … well, there was a thread on this ages ago, and a surprising number of women posted that they _were_ bothered by the word “panties.” \*\* Yeah, that was me spurred on by the episode of SportsNight when the woman was constantly remarking about taking hers off during her date. (The whole episode was weird and I only made it halfway through it.) I think the thing I dislike about it is the very FACT that men find it such a sexy term. Yuck! I don’t want guys getting all stiff about what they call my underwear! It also sounds too much like “Panting,” like a dog does. There’s something “drooley” about the word panties. ---
**Author:** ![Welfy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e56c9b/32.png) [@Welfy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Welfy)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2000, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/panties-underwear/33658/33 "2000-09-19T20:09:50Z")
Ugh! I don’t like the word “panties”. Like voguevixen, I think it sounds too much like “pant” like a dog panting. It seems like a word my mom would call them. Yuck. I like “underoos” or “undies”. ---
**Author:** ![saam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90ced4/32.png) [@saam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saam)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2000, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/panties-underwear/33658/34 "2000-09-19T20:31:55Z")
Wasn’t the term “panties” considered scandalous in the 50’s? It was the central point in an old trial movie with ? Cary Grant and Yvette Memeu? “In Cold Blood”? A trial in Michigan where he get’s her off the hook for murder, but thinks she did it. ---
**Author:** ![Icerigger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icerigger/32/432_2.png) [@Icerigger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icerigger)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2000, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/panties-underwear/33658/35 "2000-09-19T23:10:25Z")
See the movie Anatomy of a Murder (1959) with Jimmy Stewart and Geroge C Scott, a major point of the plot was the mention of a pair of panties and how scandalous it was to mention. ---
**Author:** ![Archer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@Archer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Archer)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2000, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/panties-underwear/33658/36 "2000-09-20T00:30:40Z")
Ahem, how about crotch cozies? (Ducking shoes and rocks thrown by all the women) ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2000, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/panties-underwear/33658/37 "2000-09-20T01:04:54Z")
I’ll say panties OR underwear, I don’t care. I LOVED that MST3K episode…_I have the biggest crush on Mike Nelson…sigh_ Now: Weren’t knickers also called tap pants? ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2000, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/panties-underwear/33658/38 "2000-09-20T01:23:52Z")
unmentionables. ---
**Author:** ![vanilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f19dbf/32.png) [@vanilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vanilla)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2000, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/panties-underwear/33658/39 "2000-09-20T13:45:59Z")
jesuslynch: What if someoen asks you to open your drawers? ---
**Author:** ![jesuslynch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e99b99/32.png) [@jesuslynch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jesuslynch)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2000, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/panties-underwear/33658/40 "2000-09-20T16:22:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by vanilla \* > \*\*jesuslynch: What if someoen asks you to open your drawers? \*\* You asking? I don’t know. Mommajesus doesn’t even ask anymore. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/panties-underwear/33658.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/panties-underwear/33658.md?page=3)