Wednesday 13 April 2011

'K' is for ... KNICKERS

Pants, panties, drawers, briefs, undies, passion killers; call them what you like, but it’s always been knickers for me.

Pants and pantees just don’t have the same ring and Knickers is a very British reference to what any readers in the US and other countries might describe as girls/women’s underwear - an item that preserves modesty and stops a draft from getting where it shouldn’t;)

Knickers usually have an elasticated waist, are made of a light layer of fabric which fits snugly and cover from the waist down to two leg openings. A lined crotch panel covers the genital area. In the British sense of the word, knickers have no legs or in some cases very short ones.

Here are some interesting facts about Knickers you may not know:

- The name knickers came from the long bloomers that used to be women and girls underwear.
- Knickerbockers were full breeches which gathered and banded just below the knee.
- In the US, I think you refer to Knickers/knickerbockers as a type of golfing pants – or Plus fours.
- Wearing no knickers is known as going commando!
- When Emmeline Pankhurst (pioneer of the Women's Suffragette Movement) died she was famously wearing split crotch knickers

- Marks & Spencer is the biggest seller of Knickers in the UK, selling over 50 million pairs of knickers worldwide each year – that’s 137,000 pairs of knickers sold each day.

- The word Knickers has a naughty or playful connotation in the English language. Here are a few typical sayings to make you smile:

- ‘Pah, knickers to you!’ is a way of telling someone that you don’t care about them or their opinion.

- The phrase ‘Don't get your Knickers in a twist!’ is commonly used as a way of telling someone to calm down and not get angry.

- 'Ooer, look at her, Miss Tarty Knickers!’ – might apply to a women who dresses too provocatively or sexy.

- And one of my favourite phrases, best said with my Yorkshire accent is, ‘She’s all fur coat and no knickers!’ In other words she might look rich and glamorous, but she has no class!

There's a huge array of knickers out there; Boyshorts, low rise, bikini, high leg, hi-cut, classic, G-string, V-String, hipsters, French knickers, granny knickers, thong (although why anyone would wear a cheese grater between their legs is beyond me;)...

How do I wear mine?

Or if I’m going out on the town , the bigger the better.

Although not quite as big as these:



So there you have my K word – KNICKERS!
It's a little cheeky but I can't finish the post without asking what type of knickers you wear? ;)

Until another day

Bye for now
xx

16 comments:

Author Joshua Hoyt said...

I like the sayings and there meanings. Here in the us we say panties in a twist but that is the only one I was familiar with. Could history lesson and thoughts.

Bish Denham said...

Funny. Around here we say "Don't get your panties in a wad."

And no...I'm not revealing what kind of knickers I wear!

Susie Swanson said...

I love it. I'm not saying what kind I wear but I'll give you a hint... They have flowers on them. Hehehe. Good post!

Joe Richardson said...

This is a wonderful post!

I could be cheeky and say it needs more pictures, but I'll let that one go.

I've always been partial to variations of the phrase "knickers in a twist." Most of my kin substitute the word panties, but for me, knickers rings far more poetic.

But "Miss Tarty Knickers" and "all coat and no knickers" -- these are wonderful , and they're new to me! I'll do my best to populate the American vocabulary with 'em.

So. Should you find yourself somewhere south of Chicago and hear a Tarty Knickers carry on the breeze, well, you'll know I'm nearby...

Best,
Joe
k: Keystone & K1000

Fennie said...

My favourite knicker expression is NORWICH which stands for 'Knickers off ready when I come home.'

'What?'

'Yes I know 'knickers' is spelt with a 'k;' I went to Cambridge, it was one of the first things they taught us. But the 'k' you see is silent - hence NORWICH.

The joke and the dialogue (in so far as I have badly remembered it) is of course Alan Bennett's.

(Interestingly in the radio play that I have been working on Rose Tremain has a middle-aged woman saying to her middle-aged husband who has stripped naked in a fit of pique 'put your knickers on, dear' so the word applies, if uncommonly, to both men's and women's underwear.)

Katie O'Sullivan said...

Love this post! Love that phrase "She's all fur coat and no knickers" - Must use that soon!!!

Norma Murray said...

Did you mention drawers as another word for knickers? As in 'Red hat, no drawers, red coat, all yours.'

Rosemary Gemmell said...

The fur coat and no knickers expression is also famous in genteel Edinburgh! An amusing post - thanks for the smile.

Jane Lovering said...

I hate to say it, but I am a fan of Big Knickers. They might not look pretty but they don't bunch, they don't chafe, they don't make horrible lines under your clothes and, quite honestly, if a man is going to baulk at the size of my pants then I don't really want to be with him anyway!

Denise Covey said...

How could we forget Bridget Jones' knickers. I was trying to count how many men had visited. Did you put a hastag on twitter, ha ha.

Great history, great pics.

I was talking to someone from a Colonial historical society and she was explaining knickers in the 1800s and how they really did allow you to have a 'roll in the hay' with their easy opening, ha ha.

Denise<3

Mari G said...

This is a great fun post!

I have a memory of an expression "Knickers Monica" being trotted out in a British sit com several years ago(Are you being served? maybe?)

As for my own, comfort is all important!

Jennifer Shirk said...

LOL! Fun post! Whenever I hear to see the word knickers I always think of the long bloomer thingies. :-)

Deborah Lawrenson said...

What fun! Thank you for finding my blog, and I look forward to following here too.

(Though if I spend any more time than I already do at the desk it won't be long before I fit into that big blue job...!)

Anonymous said...

I love 'big knickers' especially the type known as Directoire knickers.
I am wearing a pair of navy blue school knickers.
Crossunderblue.

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