# What were Daisy Dukes called before Dukes of Hazzard? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 25, 2010, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-daisy-dukes-called-before-dukes-of-hazzard/551424 "2010-08-25T17:57:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![SirRay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@SirRay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SirRay)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2010, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-daisy-dukes-called-before-dukes-of-hazzard/551424/1 "2010-08-25T17:57:25Z")
Yes, I do like the song ‘California Gurls’, thank you very much, :p, but what actually brought this to mind was rewatching the MST3K episode with “Swamp Diamonds” - when the escaped female prisoners cut off the legs of their jeans to make demin shorts (and which Crow indicated was the whole point of the movie). OK, so they had ladies’ demin shorts back in 1954 (and probably much earlier), but since Catherine Bach and them Duke Boys wouldn’t be getting into “a whole mess o’ trouble” till 1979, was there a slang phrase that meant Daisy Dukes before then? ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2010, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-daisy-dukes-called-before-dukes-of-hazzard/551424/2 "2010-08-25T18:02:27Z")
We wore short shorts! ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2010, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-daisy-dukes-called-before-dukes-of-hazzard/551424/3 "2010-08-25T18:03:01Z")
Hot pants. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2010, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-daisy-dukes-called-before-dukes-of-hazzard/551424/4 "2010-08-25T18:05:59Z")
They should have called them [Daisy Mae’s](http://www.olive-drab.com/gallery/description_0037.php)! ---
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2010, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-daisy-dukes-called-before-dukes-of-hazzard/551424/5 "2010-08-25T18:07:27Z")
Cutoffs. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2010, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-daisy-dukes-called-before-dukes-of-hazzard/551424/6 "2010-08-25T18:07:28Z")
If they don’t wear _any_ pants, they can all them **Daisy Ducks** [http://images.search.yahoo.com/images/view?back=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.search.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fimages%3F\_adv\_prop%3Dimage%26va%3DDaisy%2BDuck%26fr%3Dyfp-t-701&w=182&h=289&imgurl=www.101kidz.com%2Fcards%2Fpictures%2Fdaisyduck%2F2.gif&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.101kidz.com%2Fgallery%2Fdaisyduck%2Findex.html&size=8KB&name=Daisy+Duck+%3A+Dis...&p=Daisy+Duck&oid=249bb8bcbacc694baca90423c908b317&fr2=&no=20&tt=72200&sigr=11ji539g9&sigi=11e518qef&sigb=12nrr638p](http://images.search.yahoo.com/images/view?back=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.search.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fimages%3F_adv_prop%3Dimage%26va%3DDaisy%2BDuck%26fr%3Dyfp-t-701&w=182&h=289&imgurl=www.101kidz.com%2Fcards%2Fpictures%2Fdaisyduck%2F2.gif&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.101kidz.com%2Fgallery%2Fdaisyduck%2Findex.html&size=8KB&name=Daisy+Duck+%3A+Dis...&p=Daisy+Duck&oid=249bb8bcbacc694baca90423c908b317&fr2=&no=20&tt=72200&sigr=11ji539g9&sigi=11e518qef&sigb=12nrr638p) > **[Daisy Duck](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daisy_Duck)** > > Daisy Duck is a cartoon character created by The Walt Disney Company. As the girlfriend of Donald Duck, she is an anthropomorphic white duck that has large eyelashes and ruffled tail feathers around her lowest region to suggest a skirt. She is often seen wearing a hair bow, blouse, and heeled shoes. Daisy was introduced in the short film Mr. Duck Steps Out (1940) and was incorporated into Donald's comic stories several months later. Carl Barks, the screenwriter and lead storyboard artist for th... ---
**Author:** ![xenophon41](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xenophon41/32/253_2.png) [@xenophon41](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xenophon41)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2010, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-daisy-dukes-called-before-dukes-of-hazzard/551424/7 "2010-08-25T18:16:42Z")
> [@Bridget\_Burke](#): > > They should have called them [Daisy Mae’s](http://www.olive-drab.com/gallery/description_0037.php)! I remember my mother referring to cutoffs that way in the 60’s. -Also, wasn’t the character in Dukes of Hazzard named _Daisy Mae Duke_, after the Li’l Abner character? ---
**Author:** ![SirRay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@SirRay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SirRay)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2010, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-daisy-dukes-called-before-dukes-of-hazzard/551424/8 "2010-08-25T18:45:43Z")
> [@xenophon41](#): > > > [@Bridget\_Burke](#): > > > > They should have called them [Daisy Mae’s](http://www.olive-drab.com/gallery/description_0037.php)! > > I remember my mother referring to cutoffs that way in the 60’s. > > -Also, wasn’t the character in Dukes of Hazzard named _Daisy Mae Duke_, after the Li’l Abner character? Daisy Mae’s does sound reasonable as a slang term - cutoffs I figure was the real store term (“cutoff demin shorts”) but maybe it was a slang term too. Wasn’t Short-Shorts a term from the 1970s meaning not demin cutoffs, but sports shorts in some sort of nylon/polyester/whatever 70s fabric styles? (All I can remember as a kid was that stupid ad jingle - “Nair for short-shorts!”) And wikipedia agrees with Daisy ‘Mae’ Duke, but I can only picture (in the TV show) Deputy Enos saying her full name (in his most bashful voice, of course). ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2010, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-daisy-dukes-called-before-dukes-of-hazzard/551424/9 "2010-08-25T18:52:29Z")
> [@](#): > > Wasn’t Short-Shorts a term from the 1970s meaning not demin cutoffs, but sports shorts in some sort of nylon/polyester/whatever 70s fabric styles? (All I can remember as a kid was that stupid ad jingle - “Nair for short-shorts!”) It was a late 1950’s song that Nair resurrected for those commercials\*, so the term _long_ predates The Dukes of Hazzard. Page on Short Shorts: [http://badfads.com/pages/fashion/short-shorts.html](http://badfads.com/pages/fashion/short-shorts.html) \*1957, by the Royal Teens. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2010, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-daisy-dukes-called-before-dukes-of-hazzard/551424/10 "2010-08-25T18:53:31Z")
Bermuda Shorts. Pretty much any repurposed Denim Jean Cutoff Shorts regardless of length were just generically called “Bermudas”. ---
**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 25, 2010, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-daisy-dukes-called-before-dukes-of-hazzard/551424/11 "2010-08-25T19:22:41Z")
I don’t recall different terms for cutoffs based on length. They were all cutoffs, although shorts themselves went from capris and clamdiggers up to hot pants. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2010, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-daisy-dukes-called-before-dukes-of-hazzard/551424/12 "2010-08-25T19:32:08Z")
Quoth **Sigmagirl** : > [@](#): > > Hot pants. I thought hot pants were made of Spandex or similar stretchy material, not denim. ---
**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:** [August 25, 2010, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-daisy-dukes-called-before-dukes-of-hazzard/551424/13 "2010-08-25T19:40:17Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Quoth **Sigmagirl** : > > > [@](#): > > > > Hot pants. > > I thought hot pants were made of Spandex or similar stretchy material, not denim. Aye, the hot pants. I agree with **Chronos**. “Hot pants” and “Daisy Dukes” bring up different (albeit both pleasant 🆒) images in my mind. ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2010, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-daisy-dukes-called-before-dukes-of-hazzard/551424/14 "2010-08-25T19:53:47Z")
> [@devilsknew](#): > > Bermuda Shorts. Pretty much any repurposed Denim Jean Cutoff Shorts regardless of length were just generically called “Bermudas”. Bermuda shorts go down to your knee. . .they are basically the opposite of Daisy Dukes. [Bermudas](http://www.denimblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/citizens-of-humanity-bermuda-shorts.jpg) and [Daisy Dukes.](http://images.huffingtonpost.com/gen/67793/original.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2010, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-daisy-dukes-called-before-dukes-of-hazzard/551424/15 "2010-08-25T19:59:07Z")
> [@](#): > > I thought hot pants were made of Spandex or similar stretchy material, not denim. My recollection is that Hot Pant could be made of any material. Most, in my recollection, weren’t stretchy. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2010, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-daisy-dukes-called-before-dukes-of-hazzard/551424/16 "2010-08-25T20:21:24Z")
When worn by men? “Stylish and not the least bit gay.” I don’t know what we were thinking. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Devil_s_Grandmother)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2010, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-daisy-dukes-called-before-dukes-of-hazzard/551424/17 "2010-08-25T21:15:00Z")
Cut-offs, is what we called them in the 1970s. “Daisy Dukes” are cut-off cut really high on the thigh, like the [running shorts](http://www3.shopping.com/-vintage+dolfin+shorts) which were in fashion at the time. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2010, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-daisy-dukes-called-before-dukes-of-hazzard/551424/18 "2010-08-25T21:41:34Z")
> [@DiosaBellissima](#): > > > [@devilsknew](#): > > > > Bermuda Shorts. Pretty much any repurposed Denim Jean Cutoff Shorts regardless of length were just generically called “Bermudas”. > > Bermuda shorts go down to your knee. . .they are basically the opposite of Daisy Dukes. [Bermudas](http://www.denimblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/citizens-of-humanity-bermuda-shorts.jpg) and [Daisy Dukes.](http://images.huffingtonpost.com/gen/67793/original.jpg) Look, Like I said, that’s what they called cut-off denim shorts **regardless of length**. Said the grammar police to the fashion police… ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2010, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-daisy-dukes-called-before-dukes-of-hazzard/551424/19 "2010-08-25T21:54:56Z")
Fugly? ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2010, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-daisy-dukes-called-before-dukes-of-hazzard/551424/20 "2010-08-25T22:24:15Z")
> [@devilsknew](#): > > > [@DiosaBellissima](#): > > > > Bermuda shorts go down to your knee. . .they are basically the opposite of Daisy Dukes. [Bermudas](http://www.denimblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/citizens-of-humanity-bermuda-shorts.jpg) and [Daisy Dukes.](http://images.huffingtonpost.com/gen/67793/original.jpg) > > Look, Like I said, that’s what they called cut-off denim shorts **regardless of length**. > > Said the grammar police to the fashion police… All I’m saying is that bermuda shorts are actually a specific thing. It’s not a generic term like “cut offs.” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-daisy-dukes-called-before-dukes-of-hazzard/551424.md?page=2)