2024 Fashion On The Ration Challenge

PollyWollyDoodle

In days of old … things that covered your legs came in two parts, they hadn’t quite perfected zips, fly buttons etc so drawers (which were not worn in any form till the 19th century) came as two separate legs that you’d fasten with ties at the waist.  Hence - a pair of drawers. Originally worn by men, then taken on my women. 

I’m pretty sure trousers started off in the same way - the word comes from trouse or trews (which is a word my school friend’s Yorkshire granny used to use) and originally they’d also have been in two halves. Hence a pair of trousers/pants/kecks! 

Interesting link here https://livesandlegaciesblog.org/2019/08/30/drawers-knickers-or-pants-why-do-we-call-them-that/

Cherryfudge

Fascinating article @PollyWollyDoodle! And my Mum called trousers 'trews', probably because she didn't like to think her girls were wearing trousers! She was from London, whereas I think of 'trews' as a Northern/Scottish word.

florianatwobob

Sarahspangles said:

talesfromamicroholding said:

Laura_Elsewhere said:

talesfromamicroholding said:

 I haven't worn pants in so long 

I did a cracking double-take at that before realising you mean the American use of pants to mean trousers...  

Ahhh I do apologise, I forget that there are probably a lot more American counterparts on here than there used to be, I'll make sure to put both references next time when stating something which might have a different wording for them

My OH calls trousers ‘pants’, so it seems to be a Lancashire thing too. In Yorkshire the dialect is kecks for trousers and underkecks for pants!

Keks and underkeks in Cumbria too!

PollyWollyDoodle

Oh and another word which I think is northern, one of my student friends used to refer to underpants as ‘trollies’.  

Sarahspangles

PollyWollyDoodle said:

Oh and another word which I think is northern, one of my student friends used to refer to underpants as ‘trollies’.  

We have other topics of conversation too! 

Liverpool_Anne

Kecks and underkecks or undercrackers in Liverpool

weenancyinAmerica

We do have a couple of Americans and Canadians here too. I try to use the English words (versus the American words) and temperature readings in Celsius rather than Fahrenheit ( I look it up on Google) when I can. Though sometimes I find myself using the terms at home and confuse my roommates.

Sarahspangles

weenancyinAmerica said:

We do have a couple of Americans and Canadians here too. I try to use the English words (versus the American words) and temperature readings in Celsius rather than Fahrenheit ( I look it up on Google) when I can. Though sometimes I find myself using the terms at home and confuse my roommates.

I’m a fan of Georgette Heyer, in a Facebook group lots of us have had to admit using words and phrases she did in her Regency books!  ‘Drunk as a wheelbarrow’ is a favourite.

PipneyJane

weenancyinAmerica said:

We do have a couple of Americans and Canadians here too. I try to use the English words (versus the American words) and temperature readings in Celsius rather than Fahrenheit ( I look it up on Google) when I can. Though sometimes I find myself using the terms at home and confuse my roommates.

@weenancyinAmerica, I appreciate your problems.  As well as being active here, I spent 15 years hanging around the American M0tley Fool discussion boards, and a decade working for an American company.  I’m used to translating between the British and American dialects, as well as to/from my native Australian.  Probably most confusing for you are some of the money terms, since a “pension” is a very different product in America to Britain.  (My understanding is that most British pensions are the equivalent of an American 401k or an Australian Superannuation plan.  See what i mean?)

The British can be confusing.  As the known Australian on a big construction project, I once got cornered by the client’s auditors - French and Canadian - and asked to explain how Britain “worked”, explaining road signs, pub licensing rules, etc.  Things we take for granted, but they’d never encountered before.  I was in there for over an hour, and I think they only asked me two questions about the project’s accounts.  (I was the project accountant.)

- Pip

alicef

Another 2 coupons to declare - 100g sock wool.   I'm in awe of self striping wool - it's colourwork without floats!