Englarican Pt. II

In part 2 of our examination of English vs American languages, we will discuss underwear. Yes, that piece of clothing that we find to be so important that nobody ever sees...that elusive, sometimes sexy, often scary garment that we put between our skins the clothing we show the world. Bras, panties, boxers, briefs, etc.

First of all, when Americans say 'underewear', it can mean one of two things...the underpants that you wear, or your bra...but most commonly it refers to underpants, bra's getting their own designation. Underpants can be further broken down into a few different categories for men.

Boxers
Briefs (tighty whities)
Trunk Briefs (that's a picture of me, of course. Yeah right!)
Bikini Briefs
Butt floss, aka, Thong

For women, it can get even more confusing: (These all come from Victoria's secret, and will undoubtably be named differently elsewhere. Notes in parenthases come from Victoria's Secret, not me. i.e., While G-string is common, I believe V-string is a Victoria's Secret name)

Boy Briefs(extreme low-ride)
Hipsters(extreme low-ride)
Bikini(classic)
G-String(V-String, classic)
Thong(extreme low-ride)
Bikini(extreme low-ride)
Thong(classic)
Bikini(classic string)
G-String(V-String, extreme low-rise)

And if you want to start into the countless kinds of bras, that's your own accord. But as you can see, things get a bit overwhelming at the best of times.

Now the Brits? "pants" are underpants. Don't worry, the long-legged things you wear on the outside - those are pants too. But they might be trousers, or jeans, or whatever. But underpants? Those are "pants".

And what about your bra? I thought they were a 'vest', but apparently they're still a 'bra'. But a 'vest' is still underwear. That's a "string vest". It's used (typically by men with no fashion sense, according to Helen) to keep themselves warmer. It's not a vest. (that's a gillet). Oh, and a "vest top"? Well that's comletely different. And these vests are not vests, they're waistcoats. Basically, if a 'vest' is worn over cloathing, it's not a 'vest'. Vests are always underwear. Hence, "gillet", "waistcoat".

EDIT - Helen has read this blog and corrections in regards to a 'vest' have been made.

Now...how confused and intimidated are you? Imagine trying to buy underwear for your lady now. What do you get? What kind will she wear? What is her size??

It's a wide world of craziness out there and it's all hidden under our clothes. And if you go international, it gets even crazier. Count yourselves lucky!