# What's a "teddy" in clothing? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 22, 2009, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-teddy-in-clothing/522156 "2009-12-22T03:34:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2009, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-teddy-in-clothing/522156/21 "2009-12-22T13:22:40Z")
HL Mencken in _American Speech IV_, 1929, surmised that the teddy was so called “_from its real or fancied resemblance in general shape (or shapelessness) to the teddy-bear_.”. Not sure I see it myself but there’s no better suggestion on offer. Earliest cite in OED for the female undergarment is 1924; teddy-bear goes back to 1907. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2009, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-teddy-in-clothing/522156/22 "2009-12-22T15:55:02Z")
Maybe so called because it’s something you want to sleep with instead of a teddy bear when you get old enough? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2009, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-teddy-in-clothing/522156/23 "2009-12-22T16:25:06Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > Some tie in front, some have daintly little buttons, so you can step into them, **while others have snap crotches so you can pull them over your head.** Really? Makes sense, I suppose. I always though the snaps were for…other reasons. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2009, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-teddy-in-clothing/522156/24 "2009-12-22T17:52:44Z")
Ah, this reminds me, years ago on an annual shopping trip with a friend… We’re in Victoria’s Secret buying something for my wife, and there’s a couple in the store obviously having a fight, with the woman white-hot angry and the man trying to placate her. She’s in line ahead of us and he wanders off for a while, and then he comes back with a cute little pink stuffed bear, which he hands to her. “What’s this?” she asks suspiciously. “You _said_ we wanted to get her a teddy,” he says, in an _I was just trying to help_ voice, and unfortunately my friend and I can’t help ourselves and we burst out laughing. She gave us one good look and we stopped, though. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2009, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-teddy-in-clothing/522156/25 "2009-12-22T18:40:42Z")
Words from “Valley Girl”: > [@Moon Unit Zappa](#): > > Anyway, he goes, are you into S&M? > I go, oh right… > Could you, like, just picture me in, like, a leather teddy? > Yeah right, hurt me, hurt me… > I’m sure! No way! > He was, like, freaking me out… 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-teddy-in-clothing/522156.md?page=1)