# Zōri vs. flip-flops **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 14, 2019, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zori-vs-flip-flops/833949 "2019-05-14T15:37:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2019, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zori-vs-flip-flops/833949/1 "2019-05-14T15:37:37Z")
When I was little, we called flip-flops ‘zories’; probably because we’d lived in Japan and wore zōri. I still call them that, probably because of my childhood, and because I wear actual zōri ([these ones](https://smile.amazon.com/Tiger-Claw-Straw-Zori-Small/dp/B00DXYMNXC), in Summer.) Do you use ‘zōri’ and ‘flip-flop’ interchangeably, even though they’re different? ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2019, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zori-vs-flip-flops/833949/2 "2019-05-14T15:38:40Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Do you use ‘zōri’ and ‘flip-flop’ interchangeably, even though they’re different? Nope. Never heard the term “zori.” ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2019, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zori-vs-flip-flops/833949/3 "2019-05-14T15:40:40Z")
Never heard the term “zori.” I’ve probably only seen the sort of footwear you linked to a handful of times, outside of movies or TV shows set in Japan. ---
**Author:** ![TSBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@TSBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TSBG)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2019, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zori-vs-flip-flops/833949/4 "2019-05-14T15:42:22Z")
I like zoris and wear then when I get motivated to find them, but I never knew the name until today, I just go into a Japanese import store and pick them out. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2019, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zori-vs-flip-flops/833949/5 "2019-05-14T15:43:34Z")
> [@TSBG](#): > > I like zoris and wear then when I get motivated to find them, but I never knew the name until today, I just go into a Japanese import store and pick them out. Now you have a link. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2019, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zori-vs-flip-flops/833949/6 "2019-05-14T15:47:58Z")
I’ve never heard “zori”. I call them flip-flops now, but in my childhood in Chicago we called them “thongs”. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2019, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zori-vs-flip-flops/833949/7 "2019-05-14T15:50:58Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > I call them flip-flops now, but in my childhood in Chicago we called them “thongs”. I’ve heard them called thongs, of course; but I’ve never called them that myself. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2019, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zori-vs-flip-flops/833949/8 "2019-05-14T15:54:29Z")
I’ve never heard the term, but I wore them when in Japan. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2019, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zori-vs-flip-flops/833949/9 "2019-05-14T16:18:03Z")
Later in college, we started giving them more specific names, like “JK flip-flop” and “dual-edge-triggered D flip-flop”. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2019, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zori-vs-flip-flops/833949/10 "2019-05-14T16:28:02Z")
My Mother called them ‘eedie-wops’ because of the sound they make when you walk in them. Never knew she made it up til I was in highschool. Daddy called them 'shower shoes" ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2019, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zori-vs-flip-flops/833949/11 "2019-05-14T16:33:30Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > Daddy called them 'shower shoes" I wore ‘shower shoes’ (which we called ‘zories’ or ‘flip-flops’) when I lived in Lancaster. The goatheads would go right through them. Ouch. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2019, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zori-vs-flip-flops/833949/12 "2019-05-14T16:44:32Z")
To me, they are zoris, because I lived on the Micronesian island of Pohnpei for three years and that’s where I started wearing them. Zoris are ubiquitous in Micronesia and I assume the name “zori” is a result of Japanese influence. Now I live on Hawaii and it’s hard to know what to call them. People call them “slippers” (pronounced “slippahs”) here but it feels a bit pretentious for me to follow suit, like I’m pretending to be a local when I’m not. My natural inclination is just to call them zoris but people don’t know what that means. I guess I should say “flipflops” - that doesn’t come naturally to me either, but at least people will know what I mean and that’s the term I heard as a kid so it makes some kind of sense for me to use it. ---
**Author:** ![Bayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bayaker/32/3454_2.png) [@Bayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2019, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zori-vs-flip-flops/833949/13 "2019-05-14T17:17:06Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Do you use ‘zōri’ and ‘flip-flop’ interchangeably, even though they’re different? I don’t use the term _zori_ - _flipflops_ is the term I grew up with, but relatives from Baltimore\* routinely called them _zories_. The terms were interchangeable for the rubbery plastic things that kids(and some adults) wore. If I had seen some like in your link I would call them _expensive flipflops_. \*I had to translate a lot of Bawlmerese to my friends 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2019, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zori-vs-flip-flops/833949/14 "2019-05-14T17:51:54Z")
And **Johnny L.A.** triggers another flashback! 🙂 Zories were definitely part of my childhood until they were replaced by _thongs_. Specifically the black rubber ones with the multi color striped heels. Flip flops was not in my vocabulary. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2019, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zori-vs-flip-flops/833949/15 "2019-05-14T17:53:48Z")
As a very rough estimate, I’ve heard them called Flip flops 98% of the time Thongs 2% of the time Zori 0% of the time But honestly, they aren’t something that I’ve heard much of at all (or worn myself) since the early 1980s. ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2019, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zori-vs-flip-flops/833949/16 "2019-05-14T20:02:32Z")
They were almost exclusively called thongs when I was a youngster. In a book I read that was published close to the year of my birth (1960) the main character described people wearing thong sandals. The first time I ever heard anyone call them “flip flops” was when Margaritaville came out. The Wikipedia article claims without citation that they’ve been called flip-flops in the US since the 60s. The article has no citations older than 1996 (the one link dated 1957 turns out to be improperly cited. It’s a recent (2017ish) article that says the name “jandal” was trademarked in New Zealand in 1957) The comments on [this page](https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/124436/when-did-the-term-flip-flop-displace-the-term-thong-in-north-america-for-a-t) include several people from across the US agreeing that they were called thongs in the US in the 60s. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2019, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zori-vs-flip-flops/833949/17 "2019-05-14T20:11:13Z")
We sold them in the 60s. They were called thongs, though we’d know what you meant if you said “Zorie” or “flipflop.” ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2019, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zori-vs-flip-flops/833949/18 "2019-05-14T20:21:35Z")
> [@Doug\_K](#): > > The Wikipedia article claims without citation that they’ve been called flip-flops in the US since the 60s. Personal citation: When we weren’t calling them zories, we called them flip-flops in the late-'60s. Also, one or both of my parents would occasionally call them ‘go-aheads’. ---
**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:** [May 14, 2019, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zori-vs-flip-flops/833949/19 "2019-05-14T20:24:26Z")
I’m from Hawaii, so they’re slippahs to me. I refer to “flip-flops” as the F word. ---
**Author:** ![Rough\_Draft](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/76d3ee/32.png) [@Rough\_Draft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rough_Draft)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2019, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zori-vs-flip-flops/833949/20 "2019-05-14T20:26:32Z")
I grew up in Texas during the 1960s, and we nearly always called them thongs. The rest of the time we referred to them by a racist name that I do not care to repeat in my mature years. I never heard them called flip flops until maybe the 1980s, but now it’s ubiquitous. I never heard the term zorie until today. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zori-vs-flip-flops/833949.md?page=2)