# 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:** 3
**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 15, 2019, 8:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zori-vs-flip-flops/833949/41 "2019-05-15T08:39:59Z")
> [@lingyi](#): > > Definitely “slippahs” or “rubbah slippahs” in Hawaii. If you ask for flip-flops, you’ve outed yourself as a mainlander. 😃 Serious question: is being a mainlander something you look down on? If not, why would you refer to it as “outing”? ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2019, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zori-vs-flip-flops/833949/42 "2019-05-15T08:57:00Z")
Southern Ontario, 1960s: they were flip-flops. Never heard of “zories” until this thread. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2019, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zori-vs-flip-flops/833949/43 "2019-05-15T11:12:49Z")
IN the 60s in western Pennsylvania I called them thongs as did most people. Flip-Flops was a term used by some, and we all knew what they meant. There was _one family_ that called them zories, and for some reason the members of that family constantly found reasons to say the word. When I reminisce about that family, I remember them constantly talking about zories. ---
**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:** [May 15, 2019, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zori-vs-flip-flops/833949/44 "2019-05-15T11:55:01Z")
They’re called _thongs_ here in Australia. Most people would know that Americans call them “flip-flops” but no one would use the term here without irony. In New Zealand, they’re called _jandals_. Which comes from a marketing term and is a contraction of “Japanese Sandals”. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2019, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zori-vs-flip-flops/833949/45 "2019-05-15T12:38:58Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Also, one or both of my parents would occasionally call them ‘go-aheads’. My mom still calls them that occasionally. ---
**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 15, 2019, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zori-vs-flip-flops/833949/46 "2019-05-15T13:51:02Z")
[The Google Ngram viewer](https://is.gd/tDu4RE) shows that “flip-flop” started being more popular than “thong” in the mid-50s. “Zorie” was not commonly used. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2019, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zori-vs-flip-flops/833949/47 "2019-05-15T14:21:18Z")
We called them zoris in 1962-ish suburban New Jersey. We went to a progressive private school, which may have influenced our word choice, or it may have been more widespread. Never really heard of other people using the term since then. ---
**Author:** ![TRC4941](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trc4941/32/6792_2.png) [@TRC4941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRC4941)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2019, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zori-vs-flip-flops/833949/48 "2019-05-15T14:45:45Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > I’ve never heard “zori”. I call them flip-flops now, but in my childhood in Chicago we called them “thongs”. Same ---
**Author:** ![lingyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d2c977/32.png) [@lingyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lingyi)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2019, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zori-vs-flip-flops/833949/49 "2019-05-15T16:38:58Z")
> [@CairoCarol](#): > > Serious question: is being a mainlander something you look down on? If not, why would you refer to it as “outing”? Fair question. I can already see the cries of “racist!”, but as homogenized as Hawaii is with it’s multi-ethic mix, there’s a still an “Us”, kama’aina (those who were born or lived here for an extended period here) and “Them”, malahine (newcomers) attitude. It has nothing to do with race or color. I have cousins who were born and raised in the mainland who are “mainlanders”. I’ve been slammed on a couple of other threads for discussing how in Hawaii we make fun of different races or malahine, but it’s in good spirits without intent to hurt or harm, and is what allows us to live together. It was in this spirit that I posted: “If you ask for flip-flops, you’ve outed yourself as a mainlander.” ---
**Author:** ![Dahnlor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dahnlor/32/533_2.png) [@Dahnlor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dahnlor)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2019, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zori-vs-flip-flops/833949/50 "2019-05-15T17:02:26Z")
I remember knowing them as “thongs” when I was a child (Los Angeles in the '70s), with “flip-flops” being used more and more commonly before completely replacing the term around the late '80s (I believe “thong” is now used almost exclusively to describe the undergarment, thanks in no small part to “The Thong Song”). Like **Johnny L.A.** , I also had some family members who liked to call them “go-aheads”, because just try walking backwards in them! As to “zori”, never heard the word before seeing this thread. When I read the title, I thought it was referring to some new kind of footwear that is an alternative to flip-flops. ---
**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 15, 2019, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zori-vs-flip-flops/833949/51 "2019-05-15T17:07:50Z")
> [@lingyi](#): > > Fair question. > > I can already see the cries of “racist!”, but as homogenized as Hawaii is with it’s multi-ethic mix, there’s a still an “Us”, kama’aina (those who were born or lived here for an extended period here) and “Them”, malahine (newcomers) attitude. It has nothing to do with race or color. I have cousins who were born and raised in the mainland who are “mainlanders”. > > I’ve been slammed on a couple of other threads for discussing how in Hawaii we make fun of different races or malahine, but it’s in good spirits without intent to hurt or harm, and is what allows us to live together. It was in this spirit that I posted: “If you ask for flip-flops, you’ve outed yourself as a mainlander.” When Mrs. L.A. was a little girl, ethnic Hawaiian kids would beat her up every day for being a haole. ☹ ---
**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 15, 2019, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zori-vs-flip-flops/833949/52 "2019-05-15T19:16:58Z")
I’m sorry she experienced that. As much of a melting pot Hawaii is, it’s still got racism problems. ---
**Author:** ![fc1114](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/41988e/32.png) [@fc1114](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fc1114)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2019, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zori-vs-flip-flops/833949/53 "2019-05-15T20:06:34Z")
I know them as flip flops and I know they’re horrible for your feet [https://www.webmd.com/beauty/features/flip-flops-fun-but-not-great-for-feet#1](https://www.webmd.com/beauty/features/flip-flops-fun-but-not-great-for-feet#1) ---
**Author:** ![Topologist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/topologist/32/3208_2.png) [@Topologist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Topologist)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2019, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zori-vs-flip-flops/833949/54 "2019-05-16T00:32:22Z")
I grew up calling them zories because my family lived in Japan when I was young (very: we left when I was 1 year old). I never knew and am surprised to hear there were pockets of the US where the term was common. ---
**Author:** ![lingyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d2c977/32.png) [@lingyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lingyi)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2019, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zori-vs-flip-flops/833949/55 "2019-05-16T03:54:28Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > When Mrs. L.A. was a little girl, ethnic Hawaiian kids would beat her up every day for being a haole. ☹ Sorry to hear about your wife’s experiences. Just as everywhere, there’s good people and bad. I’m thankful that the majority of kids/people I’ve known have been generally good. It wasn’t until a few years ago, so nearly 50 years had passed that I found my 3rd grade school picture and to my surprise there was a white kid in my class. I vaguely remember him and while he wasn’t a good friend, as far I can remember no one treated him any different. ---
**Author:** ![Sleel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/73ab20/32.png) [@Sleel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sleel)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2019, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zori-vs-flip-flops/833949/56 "2019-05-16T05:46:47Z")
Never heard them called _zōri_ in the US, including the 3–4 years I lived in San Diego. No idea who the earlier poster was hanging out with, but nobody _I_ knew in SD called them anything but flip-flops or sandals. Given West Pac base cross-pollination, it’s not unlikely that military personnel posted in Hawaii adopted it, but mainland San Diegans didn’t seem to use the term, even if they did weird shit like pronounce Diamond (near Emerald and Ruby streets downtown) as Dee-a-mond. In Japanese, the link posted by the OP could be called 草履 _zōri_, but anything without straw (either actual or simulated) would be called サンダル _san’daru_。 If you look in a Japanese-English dictionary, theoretically flip-flops could be called ゴム草履 _gomu-zōri_ (lit. rubber _zōri_) but I’ve never personally heard anyone in the Kanto area call them that. I think **Johnny L.A.** ’s family overgeneralized/cross-adopted a Japanese word in an idiosyncratic way, which happens quite often with a handful of common terms. You wouldn’t believe the number of English speakers who adopt 元気 _genki_ (healthy, happy, energetic, “up”, etc.) even when otherwise mostly opposed to mixing languages just because it’s lexicographically so damn useful to have a word with wide meaning and application that English doesn’t have a home-grown version of, or hasn’t already stolen from another language. ---
**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 16, 2019, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zori-vs-flip-flops/833949/57 "2019-05-16T05:47:46Z")
> [@lingyi](#): > > I can already see the cries of “racist!”,(snip) > I’ve been slammed on a couple of other threads for discussing how in Hawaii we make fun of different races or malahine, but it’s in good spirits without intent to hurt or harm, Though I’m pretty much still a malihini, I get where you are coming from. There is an anecdote in Judy Rohrer’s book, “Haoles in Hawaii” where she talks about a California student who comes to study at UH, and is deeply offended at being called a haole. Of course the locals think she’s being silly; Hawaiians of all ethnicities and attitudes tend to have a much more laid-back (and probably healthier) approach to ethnic differences. Of course, the SDMB isn’t Hawaii. To the extent that you can be sensitive to and respectful of other attitudes, and explain where you are coming from (literally and figuratively), you bring a useful perspective. Still, it doesn’t hurt to stay aware that what you say can be interpreted differently in different contexts. That’s why I thought it was interesting to ask about your “outing as a mainlander” comment. Mahalo for answering. . ---
**Author:** ![lingyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d2c977/32.png) [@lingyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lingyi)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2019, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zori-vs-flip-flops/833949/58 "2019-05-16T06:33:09Z")
Thank you for your comment and insight. I write as I speak and have come to see many of the regulars here as casual friends and forget that many wouldn’t understand my sense of local humor. I’ll keep your post in mine in my future posts. ---
**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 16, 2019, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zori-vs-flip-flops/833949/59 "2019-05-16T15:06:12Z")
> [@Sleel](#): > > I think **Johnny L.A.** ’s family overgeneralized/cross-adopted a Japanese word in an idiosyncratic way… It’s not just my family. When I was growing up, the rubber ‘shower shoes’ were commonly called ‘zories’. ---
**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 16, 2019, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zori-vs-flip-flops/833949/60 "2019-05-16T15:14:14Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > It’s not just my family. When I was growing up, the rubber ‘shower shoes’ were commonly called ‘zories’. I only remember the bamboo ones as being called that, but then again it was a long time ago. I only recently remembered that I grew up saying “pop” and only changed to “soda” when I moved to FL. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zori-vs-flip-flops/833949.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zori-vs-flip-flops/833949.md?page=4)