"Panties"

So a few years ago I was listening to an actual play podcast. The bulk of the players were English (not from Wales or Scotland) and there someone from the US - who might have been the Keeper of Arcane Lore. The American kept talking about pants, boys pants, in the context that made sense. One of the female players pointed out one of the differences in language, that when he said "pants" she heard "boy's underwear". A bit later, she requested that he change his language to trousers or another word, and the other players chimed in agreeing with the request.

Yes, they were playing a game about cosmic horror, but she couldn't play as long as he was talking about boys pants.

Hi Goodgulf, yes two nations separated by a common language.

Goodgulf
In the North of England it’s quite common to refer to trousers as pants, though I don’t use the term myself and always giggle when other people do.

Except when panties gets abbreviated to pants in phrases like "she was now in just bra and pants", the word pants in the US refers to trousers, definitely for men's and sometimes for women's, which also are called slacks. Panties has a sexual character to it--I've seen writing in the US where men especially seem to become intoxicated just by using the word. Women tend to be much more down-to-earth in describing their underwear. In stores here, there may be large tables filled with panties for sale. Men who accompany women into lingerie shops or any store selling panties may be there to pay for the panties as a gift. If they are there ostesnibly to buy them for their girlfriend or wife, the salespeople often smile and suspect that the man s buying them for himself.

@ lesliejones

I feel bad for American men. Getting intoxicated by the mention of panties. But then they can only drink alcoholic beverages when they already got one foot in their grave. And there I thought German teens have tough live. They have to be 16 if the want to buy beer unsupervised. At 14 they still need an adult when they buy beer ;)