Canadian undergarments

[yowser]

I have a Canadian academic (Toronto to be specific) in my latest story-to-be, who is referring, both when speaking with others and in her internal monologues, to her undergarments.

In England and much of the rest of the Commonwealth, she would use the term 'knickers', certainly not 'panties' and I frankly do not know if Canada leans one way or the other. Or somewhere else in the slang-shpere?

What terms would a native Canadian employ for these?

'I felt my .... getting damp.'

'He stole a glimpse up my skirt at my ..."

Please help me fill in the blanks accurately.

 

[SimonDoom]

Great question. I dont know the answer either. Curious to find out.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

Panties.

 

[SimonDoom]

Panties.

Well, there you have it: the answer. As Dan Akroyd (Canadian) once said, "It's short, it's sweet, it's what everyone wants to see."

 

[NotWise]

Panties.

Not undies or underwear?

 

[BiscuitHammer]

I'm a Canadian, from Toronto

And as my frighteningly intellectual and academic female character in my flagship story Ekaterina will tell you, she calls them 'panties'.

Even though she almost never wears any...

 

[yowser]

Thank you

Such an extraordinary, prompt and thorough resource you all are. An hour is all it took for expert opinion to arrive.

'Panties' it is.

And for one small section of the tale at least, authenticity is intact.

Many thanks.

 

[RetroFan]

USA & Canada - Panties
England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa - Knickers

You can have girls from these countries refer to their knickers as their panties, but having American or Canadian girls calling their panties their knickers doesn't sound right.

 

[Rustyoznail]

USA & Canada - Panties
England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa - Knickers

You can have girls from these countries refer to their knickers as their panties, but having American or Canadian girls calling their panties their knickers doesn't sound right.

Nup. Never heard any women in Australia talk about their knickers. Always undies.

Not sure about Kiwis. They tend to be a bit more English...

 

[ElectricBlue]

Nup. Never heard any women in Australia talk about their knickers. Always undies.

Not sure about Kiwis. They tend to be a bit more English...

My wife and daughter use knickers and undies, panties on occasion but not often. When talking about them, let me clarify. That could be coz we're English by parentage, not fair dinkum. It's often a state by state thing, too.

 

[NotWise]

Somehow, I thought that if there were some difference between US and Canadian dialect regarding women's underwear, then it would involve woolens. Union suits with the flap on the bottom, and all that.

Just kidding.

I know there are dialectic differences between US English and Canadian English, but the differences may be bigger between Nova Scotia and Manitoba, or between Maine and Texas, than they are between Ontario and New York.

 

[stickygirl]

Essex girls "bin flags" cos that's where you find them draped on Sunday morning
Big girl pants UK 'bloomers, drawers, passion killers'
Teeny girl thongs 'flossers'
Otherwise UK is - smalls, nicks, knickers and depending on style - briefs, boxers, hipsters, shorts ... I think that's about it

I'd like to suggest some - camel cloths, mumblers, rashers

 

[sirhugs]

though "don't get your knickers in a knot" is a popular phrase in Canada.

 

[Voboy]

though "don't get your knickers in a knot" is a popular phrase in Canada.

Down here in Canada's basement, it's "don't get your knickers in a twist."

I think the reason "knickers" didn't catch on in the USA as a slang term for womens' undies is because we used "knickers" a hundred years ago to refer to what other people called knickerbockers. Other countries stopped wearing those after WWI, but our baseball players kept them on and kept knickers in our vernacular.

 

[NotWise]

Down here in Canada's basement, it's "don't get your knickers in a twist."

I think the reason "knickers" didn't catch on in the USA as a slang term for womens' undies is because we used "knickers" a hundred years ago to refer to what other people called knickerbockers. Other countries stopped wearing those after WWI, but our baseball players kept them on and kept knickers in our vernacular.

I once wrote a story with two female characters who died in 1926. They're ghosts in the story, and they go through the whole thing clad in camisoles and knickers, or nothing. I had to research. "Nothing" was the easy part.

As I understand it, American women wore knickers into the 1930's. The term "panties" had been around for a while simply as a diminutive for "pants," but it became the name for snug-fitting women's briefs when Eleanor Roosevelt made it okay for women to wear pants. They needed underwear that wouldn't bunch up.

 

[shewantsmore]

though "don't get your knickers in a knot" is a popular phrase in Canada.

Noooooo its dont get your knickers in a twist i say knickers mostly sometimes panties and undies depending on my mood but 80% of time its knickers, im uk born and bred

 

[jaF0]

They'd be flannel drawers, eh?

 

[BiscuitHammer]

It's usually bound by a set of conventions here, I think. For instance, 'underwear' are blah and generic big items a girl or an older woman wears. It is the word used in polite company where one isn't sure about discussing such indelicate matters in front of company.

'Knickers' is used rarely and almost exclusively in the colloquialism 'don't get your knickers in a twist'.

'Undies' is cute-sounding, you say it to kids and they say it to you.

Panties are what women say in familiar company, and also to refer to any type of the garment with a sexy factor to it- lacy or patterned, tiny, revealing... these are pantie, the term that sees by far the most use.

And to be sure before I wrote this, I asked a bunch of my lady friends for their opinions on the subject, which ended up including a Skype call where a friend displayed her collection of underthings and explained which item was of each type and why.

Hopefully that's helpful.

 

[jehoram]

Nup. Never heard any women in Australia talk about their knickers. Always undies.

OTOH, a friend of mine was in Sydney on a business trip in the 1990s. He told me that when he saw the word 'KNICKERS' in letters ten feet tall on the wall of a women's underwear factory, he knew that he wasn't in Kansas anymore.

 

[stickygirl]

Noooooo its dont get your knickers in a twist i say knickers mostly sometimes panties and undies depending on my mood but 80% of time its knickers, im uk born and bred

and the development of that 'don't get 'em in a bunch' or even 'bunch, much?'

 

[yowser]

And to be sure before I wrote this, I asked a bunch of my lady friends for their opinions on the subject, which ended up including a Skype call where a friend displayed her collection of underthings and explained which item was of each type and why.

Hopefully that's helpful.

I am touched, nay thrilled, at the extent of your research efforts to address my burning but basic question.

I hope that your Skype results were similarly satisfying, involving friends in these sorts of queries can be unusually enriching.

A debt of gratitude, many thanks.

 

[BiscuitHammer]

I am touched, nay thrilled, at the extent of your research efforts to address my burning but basic question.

I hope that your Skype results were similarly satisfying, involving friends in these sorts of queries can be unusually enriching.

A debt of gratitude, many thanks.

Most of my stories take place in or around Toronto (except The Great Khan, that's medieval Mongolia). Most of my characters have some Canadian stereotypes to one degree or another and most speak at least some French, so feel free to gank any trivia gems you might come across that are useful to you.

 

[SisterJezabel]

Nup. Never heard any women in Australia talk about their knickers. Always undies.

Not sure about Kiwis. They tend to be a bit more English...

I always use knickers and hope to never get hem in a twist!

 

[stickygirl]

Highjacking a thread again...

Is 'slip' being used in English--would the reader know that I'm talking about underwear when I use that word? I doesn't have to be commonly used in English--I'm trying to add a little bit of a foreign flavor.

Sure - a slip is worn under a skirt or dress to help the fabric hang properly. Sometimes it's included in the design and not a separate item. I have skirt slips but they can be full length too for a dress. I'm not sure all men would be familiar with it but women would

 

[yukonnights]

Well, here it is intended to be used for men as well, as another word for briefs (I believe).

I thought you were off base on this, but I did check because I was unsure. I found online men's briefs & slips. It seems to be a UK thing/term as that's where the store is located.