If you don't agree, picture your father or grandfather. It's funny because the word is a sexual word. "She's a friend to the animals as well as a philanthropist." "Uh-huh," says another equally dopey administrator. "She designed a line of faux-fur panties for her sorority's charity project," says one, his eyes agog. Or, on the other hand, is "panties" such a grown-up word that it's too sexy? There's a great scene in Legally Blonde in which a bunch of old, crotchety admissions officers are reviewing Elle Woods's (Reese Witherspoon) law school application. easily made, for the little waist and panties are cut in one piece." Women, it seems, would rather not shimmy into a garment whose name would also suggest they are shimmying into a pair of knee socks and saddle shoes and handed an oversized lollipop. In fact, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, the first known use of "panties" is from a 1908 set of instructions for making doll clothes. Literally: "little pants." The suffix puts it in the same category as "booties" and "blankies"-words often associated with small children.
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I've heard several people refer to the word as "infantilizing." The addition of the suffix "-ies" (or in the singular form, "-y") converts the word into a diminutive. Sure, when said within the confines of a lingerie store, by an older saleswoman with a tape measure around her neck and glasses slipping down her nose, it's fine: "Did you see the black underwire has the matching panty?" But taken out of this context, the word "panty" can be grimace-inducing-and there are a few possible reasons for that. Why does the word "panties" bother so many people? In addition to a slew of blog posts and message boards denouncing the word, The Huffington Post's Zoë Triska named it "the worst word ever." included "panties" in its list of the "Five Words That Need To Be Banned From English." "Panties" creeps me out.Īnd apparently I'm not alone.
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It's because I hate the word "panty." I hate the plural form of "panty" as well. Not because I hate underwear-I'm an ardent lover of underwear. Reading those words, I cringe a little bit.
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Every month or so, I receive a glossy coupon from Victoria's Secret in my mailbox.