Lower Intermediate - Hanging underwear

السلام عليكم

كيف حالكم جميعا؟ اتمنكم طيبين..
أولا و قبل من كل شيئ، أشكركم لهذا البرنامج،وهذا منتع جدا، أنا مبسوط لأشارك دائما..استفدت كتير كتير منه. ولكن لدي شيئ، لا أستطيع ان أفتح بعض البرنامج، وكمان هذا اوديوا.. هل لازم علي ان أدفع؟

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In the U.S., we call the white tight things "briefs," although some people like to ridicule them gently as "tighty whities." We call the other type "boxers."

Also, had no idea what "knickers" means -- but I'm getting a good idea from the podcast!

@ chazyouwin

In British English "briefs" can denote men's underpants or women's knickers. "Tighty whities" is a fairly recent coinage which seems to have achieved currency throughout the English-speaking world and even in non-English-speaking countries like the Netherlands. "Boxers" are also known as "boxer shorts" in the UK, and the term "boxer shorts" is widely used in Germany, too. In France this type of garment is now called "un shortie". "Shortie", which passed into general currency about twenty years ago, is used mainly by the younger generation.

I'm surprised you didn't know the word "knickers". This is a very old word which formerly denoted knee-length underpants worn by women. Nowadays knickers tend to be very short. Old-fashioned knee-length knickers were formerly known as "bloomers". They were loose-fitting garments that were often made of wool.

"Knickers" is employed in a very common British idiom: "Don't get your knickers in a twist!" "To get one's knickers in a twist" means "to become angry, confused or upset". If someone is very agitated you can also say "Don't wet your knickers!"

I think the British idiom "Don't get your knickers in a twist" is fairly known here, but rarely used (like some of the idioms referring to the game "cricket").

One risk of using Continental English idioms here is that they can seem unnatural and may be misconstrued as an affectation of someone wanting to appear superior. People socializing in literary or artistic circles obviously do not run that risk.

I was certainly familiar with the word "knickers" and with the idiom, but not with the actual meaning of it including its association with the female gender. Interesting.

I guess I should add that in American dating culture, a young man should certainly choose his undergarments very carefully. American women want their guys to wear the appropriate symbols.

In my country, (America), people are judged by how they look and dress, and this even goes for the type of underwear they wear. Men are considered immature and unappealing if they "still" wear "tighty whities", plus women are considered unappealing if they dont wear some type of string underwear. specifically if they still wear "grannies". Oh! The ridiculousness of siciety! *sigh*

Hahaha there's the British tradition of mothers advising their children to always wear clean underwear 'in case they get knocked down by a bus' (and, subsequently, are undressed in a hospital)!

I've also heard the rare expressions Walter Matthaus (US comedian) to describe boxer shorts and Hattie Jacques (UK comedienne) to describe female 'sensible/big pants' (eg à la Bridget Jones).

The Australians have an expression that describes brief, immodest swimwear (aka Speedos) - budgie smugglers (a budgie, short for budgerigar, being a small bird).

And then there's ghastly thongs, 'mankinis' etc and 'going commando' (= not wearing any)!...