Pants Used To Be A Bad Word In England Although seldom found in print, swear words or taboo words were undoubtedly uttered just as profusely in the streets as they are now. In polite or mixed
Is it pants or pants in the UK?
7 Answers. Pants is the normal word in the UK. There is a difference in use of the word in different forms of English. In American English, it means what is known as trousers in the UK. If pants is used in India with the American definition, that suggests an American influence on the English learnt there.
Is the word'pants'considered slang in the UK?
First of all, that is not slang. Pants is the normal word in the UK. There is a difference in use of the word in different forms of English. In American English, it means what is known as trousers in the UK. If pants is used in India with the American definition, that suggests an American influence on the English learnt there.
Why do people say'that's my pants'in the UK?
One of the answers here says that in parts of the UK ‘pants’ means not very good. The term comes from the children's rhyme “liar, liar, pants on fire” which was abridged to “pants” as a way to say you don't believe someone. So ‘that's pants!’ is just another way of saying `bollocks!’
Are there any clothing words that are not used in the UK?
This is because, as you might have guessed from the title, there are a number of U.K. clothing words that are either not used stateside or are, at the very least, not very common. Here are 11 such words. 1. Anorak In the U.K., an anorak actually has two meanings: 1. a hooded jacket.
Was pants a dirty word in England?
TIL that in England in the 1800's, 'Pants' was considered a dirty word.
What is pants in British slang?
(UK, slang) Rubbish; something worthless. You're talking pants!
Why do Brits say pants?
In British English, pants means underpants or, informally, nonsense. In American English, pants means trousers; the singular form is used as adjective. [BrEn] He thought we were going to be absolute pants.
Is trousers a British word?
The term dates from the seventeenth century and virtually all the OED's citations for it and the many phrases and compounds formed from it (wears the trousers in the family, anything in trousers, not in these trousers) come from Britain, with one of the few exceptions being this 2005 quote from The New York Post: “Lee ...
What is British garbage?
Rubbish is the usual word in British English for the things that you throw away because you no longer want or need them. Garbage and trash are both used in North American English. Inside the home, garbage tends to mean waste food and other wet material, while trash is paper, card and dry material.
What do they call pants in Ireland?
trousersWhen we says pants, we mean trousers, but you think we mean undies.
What century was pants considered a dirty word?
The word comes from the name of a stock figure in the commedia dell'arte, a form of Italian comic theater popular throughout Europe from about the 16th to the mid-18th century. Pantalone, as he was called, was a greedy, lecherous, scheming old man who often ended up being duped and humiliated.
Why do British say bloody?
Bloody. Don't worry, it's not a violent word… it has nothing to do with “blood”.”Bloody” is a common word to give more emphasis to the sentence, mostly used as an exclamation of surprise. Something may be “bloody marvellous” or “bloody awful“. Having said that, British people do sometimes use it when expressing anger…
What do they call shorts in England?
The British English term, short trousers, is used, only for shorts that are a short version of ordinary trousers (i.e., pants or slacks in American English).
What does the phrase its pants mean?
it's a total load of rubbishIt appears in phrases like “it's a pile of pants!” (Simon Mayo's catchphrase) and “it's pants!” or “it's absolute pants”, meaning that it's a total load of rubbish. Later, we began to hear it from older people as in “My tomato crop was pants last year”.
What does being pants mean?
: in an embarrassing position (as of being unprepared to act) pants. verb. pantsed; pantsing; pantses. Definition of pants (Entry 2 of 2)
What do British call shorts?
The British English term, short trousers, is used, only for shorts that are a short version of ordinary trousers (i.e., pants or slacks in American English).
Why do they call them pants?
It's a shortened adaptation of pantaloons, those tight-like leg coverings worn by pirates and Shakespearean characters. And in those eras of 300 or 400 years ago, before pants were a single entity, pants were actually two separate garments.
What Does “Pants” Mean In The UK?
In the UK, “pants” are what Americans call “underpants”. They are the piece of fabric between the bare crotch & buttocks, and the lower clothing item on display. What Americans refer to as “pants”, the UK calls “trousers”. The word comes from a fictional character called “Pantaloon”.
Where did the word "pants" come from?
And despite this being a debate between two English speaking countries, the origin of the word comes from France.
What was Pantaloon's outfit?
Remember, our friend Pantaloon from the French play? As we know, his outfit of choice was long johns.
What does it mean when something is called pants?
If something is described as “pants”, it means that it’s rubbish. A piece of artwork might be called “pants” if it isn’t very good. I might say “I am pants at this” if I’m struggling with it.
Why do trousers have two Rs?
It’s thought that the reason why the word “trousers” has two “r”s is to make it more similar to other words that are often associated with “a pair of”, such as “a pair of drawers”.
What do British call their pants?
As the Americanism uses pants as what we British would call Trousers, which are long shorts lets just say, occasionally you might hear a Brit call his khaki combat trousers ‘combat pants’ or ‘cargo pants’. tho usually if an Englishman says pants he means underwear - not outer-wear!
What do you call pants in English?
If you are a true Londoner, Then what you call pants are trousers in English.
What is the difference between pants and trousers?
As can be seen, in southern England the word trousers is usually used to describe outerwear and pants is used for underwear.
What is the slang for underwear?
Underwear. It’s not really slang, it’s a polite but somewhat casual way of saying underwear. Pants often refer more to ladies knickers or men’s briefs than boxers or thongs.
What is the word for a male friend?
Mate – If you think we’ve confused our islands, you’re wrong. Most of us associate the word mate with Australia, but the truth is that the Brits use this word too. It is a term of endearment used to call a friend, male or female. A male friend can also be called a lad or chap, and the female version of this is lass or lassie.
What does "bog standard" mean?
Bog standard - plain and simple - if you bought a car and chose no optional extras it would be the ‘big standard model’ - builders tea would be bog standard tea. Nogin - quite regional but means the end crust on a loaf. Can also mean brain as in “use your noggin”. Not sure of the actual spelling.
What does "pants" mean in slang?
The ‘slang’ variant of ‘pants’ is basically saying something is rubbish or not very good. “Well, that was an hour of my life I’m not getting back, that TV Show was a ‘load of old pants’. “ Normally shortened to, “Well, that was ‘pants’.”
What does "pants" mean in the UK?
In the UK "Pants" typically refers to underwear. (Where it is also a slang term for "bad". As in "That's pants".) In other parts of the world, notably the USA, "pants" refers to trousers.
What is pants in the USA?
In other parts of the world, notably the USA, "pants" refers to trousers.
What does it mean to put your pants on one leg?
Describing the meaning of "put your pants on one leg at a time", this link says: To say that someone puts their pants on one leg at a time means that the person is a human being no different from anyone else.
What does "get into someone's pants" mean?
get into someone's pants, Colloquial to have sexual intercourse with someone. ... the pants off someone, Colloquial (humorous) used after a verb, as an intensifier: that lecturer bores the pants off me; this'll scare the pants off her; I'll sue the pants off him!
Is "pants" slang in India?
1. In the UK, I've heard pants being used as slang for underpants (or was it in Bridget Jones' Diary?), whereas in India it almost exclusively means "trousers". First of all, that is not slang. Pants is the normal word in the UK. There is a difference in use of the word in different forms of English.
Where did the cant originate?
It’s believed it originated from Romany and that there were different dialects—the Romany had one, thieves another and beggars and petty thieves a third. Irish travellers also had (and have) their own cant. Some examples of thieves cant (as recorded in writing—it’s been argued that the spoken cant was different):
Is peanuts cheap?
Peanuts: very cheap —I had it for peanuts at the local shop
Did thieves have their own language?
Did you know thieves in Britain used to have their own language called thieves’ cant? It wasn’t a complete language, rather like Cockney it consists of a limited amount of words intermingled with regular language. It’s believed it originated from Romany and that there were different dialects—the Romany had one, thieves another and beggars and petty thieves a third.
Did Irish people have their own cant?
Irish travellers also had (and have) their own cant.
Do Brits use slang?
And they have some rather funny examples of how you can use one word to say many different things, chief among them being the word piss. Yes, piss.
What are some British phrases that Americans don't understand?
50 British phrases that Americans just don’t understand. 1. “How’s your father,” “Rumpy pumpy,” “Good rogering”. Meaning: To have sex, sexual relations, get “your groove on.”. 2. “Going to play some footy”. Meaning: Going to play soccer. 3.
What does "that's nice" mean?
Meaning: That’s nice, or that tastes good.
