What I want to write about today is and isn’t pants; it’s panties. I’ll start by explaining how I got from one to the other: in a word, English. In North America, pants are the things we walk around in that everyone sees. In the UK pants are trousers, and underwear are pants. I honestly wish we could call them that here too, even though I hate the word “trousers.”
But you know what word I hate even more? “Panties.” I use it for lack of a better word when I write fiction–underwear seems such a bulky word. One that conjures, in my mind, visions of undergarments that cover from the lowest part of the butt cheek to the waist. To have the hero of one of my stories strip his lady love of everything but a pair of those would quickly transform the sexiest scene into either a comedy or worse, something that would make me gag.
I didn’t grow up calling them panties, which may be why I’m so adverse to the word. What do you think? Is “panties” as distasteful for you as it is for me? Do you have a better word?
I’ve considered having all my characters go commando, just so I don’t have to deal with it at all.
This post was brought to you by Just Jot it January, and in particular, prompted by the word, “pants,” provided by pensitivity! Thank you so much! You can find her JusJoJan post by clicking right here. Please go and say hi! To participate in the prompt, please visit this post, where you’ll find the rules and you can leave your link in the comments.
June 23, 2019 at 2:42 am
I remember getting boxes of hand me down clothes from my cousin who lived in Idaho, once a year. She was a bit older, and had the most fabulous (to me) clothes. Always looked forward to that. We didn t have uniforms at public school. I don t think I d have liked it. Now though, what I wear all the time could be said to be my uniform , as in either pjs, or black pants. I just have different tops to put on. haha!
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June 23, 2019 at 11:34 pm
Here’s to PJs being our uniforms! 😀
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January 10, 2018 at 12:41 pm
I usually call it all underwear. Mens, womens, all generally underwear. If I want to be specific, then I call mens tighty whities, or boxers. Womens can be panties or thongs or bikinis or granny style, or lingerae (sp), etc. I have no problems with any of those words.
I only just learned that the British call underwear pants. 🙂
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January 10, 2018 at 1:07 am
I’m with Linda. Even though I’ve called them panties for my whole life, I can’t stand the word. How about we just adopt the French “culotte” ? Nah, it really isn’t that much better. Hey, there’s a word that doesn’t sound better in French! We should make up a word.
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January 9, 2018 at 12:27 pm
Is don’t have a problem with the word.. I am sure I have used it sometime in my life, whine my girls were little. I know I used undies more often.
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January 9, 2018 at 12:33 pm
I see spelling errors..I need to turn a light on😄
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January 9, 2018 at 11:38 am
Ha Ha, underwear causes such difficulties. In Marks & Spencer they refer to most female underwear as knickers and then add if they are bikini/thongs etc but the bigger ones, designed to cover the most, are called briefs!
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January 9, 2018 at 11:27 am
Linda, was going to say we just use the equivalent in our language (cheddis) and saw your comment above 🙂
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January 9, 2018 at 9:31 am
Knickers?
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January 9, 2018 at 6:44 am
I actually love the word panties.
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January 9, 2018 at 6:19 am
I don’t mind the words pants or panties. I only use smalls to refer to the above in laundry turns. I do hate the names for male underwear, underpants, yfronts,or as Judy at http://www.judyedwinamartin.com/ calls them unerkrackers 😀💜
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January 9, 2018 at 2:36 am
Panties is such an infantile word. Like a lot of words for ladies and our bits or clothing. Maybe we need to update the English language with far better words!
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January 8, 2018 at 8:42 pm
Um, they’re panties. They’re lacy panties, kini panties, French cut panties, and granny panties. They just are. The boys wear underwear or skivvies, but we wear panties.
I wonder how you came to dislike the word. Is it like people and moist? Do you cringe when you hear it or read it?
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January 8, 2018 at 5:00 pm
How funny! We’ve always called them panties, except most people here don’t pronounce the ‘t’, so it’s just ‘pannies’ haha! I don’t know what else to call them. We could all wear ‘under-roos’ with cartoon characters on them. That would be fun. 🙂
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January 8, 2018 at 4:30 pm
I find ‘panties’ is a clumsy word to use, undies is one we use, covers a lot, or not…lol….though I always giggle at the use of the word ‘thong’ as I think this is a silly word, probably because we wear them on our feet….
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January 8, 2018 at 4:12 pm
What do I think of ‘panties’? Love’em! Wear’em all the time!
Now, now, I’m just kidding! I’m with you, Linda – put some color (red, black, torn , et al) in the description, and I’m all for’em! How ’bout ‘Bikini Beauties?’ Chewy Cheekers? Naughty Nities? Bitty Bloomers?Naw, guess not! Maybe, I’ll write a Flash Fiction piece about the subject… Just saying! (Pardon my attempt at humor!)
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January 8, 2018 at 3:40 pm
I agree. Hate that word (I don’t even want to type it!) Why do women and men have a different word? Why can’t we just call them all “boxers”? Time to extend the meaning of that word so it’s inclusive 🙂
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January 8, 2018 at 3:26 pm
Thank you Linda for admitting, publicly, that you hate “panties” – SO DO I! I don’t know why, I also never heard that word until – well, not long ago, but it seems – you know, ‘dirty’, which is why you use it in your ‘hero’ stories. And the ‘underwear’ you described: from butt cheek to waist? those are “Granny pants”!!
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January 8, 2018 at 2:56 pm
Lol! We say knickers or smalls … or in punjabi chaddis!
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January 8, 2018 at 3:07 pm
“Knickers” is such a naughty-sounding word. Which is perfect in some scenes, but others … Maybe I should use “chaddis” and just leave everyone wondering what I’m talking about. 😛 😀
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January 8, 2018 at 3:30 pm
Yay!!! 🤣🤣🤣
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