Er, no, in Australia a skivvy is a roll-necked tight-fitting warm cotton pullover, as worn by (a) the socially inept, and (b) The Wiggles. Min was not entertaining speculation on what covers The Wiggles' goolies. I just want to make that clear so her honour is intact!
What is your childhood trauma?
Cordelia ,'Lessons'
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Angus G - Dec 12, 2002 6:26:10 am PST #811 of 9843
Roguish Laird
Am-Chau Yarkona - Dec 12, 2002 6:32:56 am PST #812 of 9843
I bop to Wittgenstein. -- Nutty
in Australia a skivvy is a roll-necked tight-fitting warm cotton pullover, as worn by (a) the socially inept, and (b) The Wiggles
It's good to get these little langauge troubles cleared up.
DXMachina - Dec 12, 2002 6:55:19 am PST #813 of 9843
You always do this. We get tipsy, and you take advantage of my love of the scientific method.
It's good to get these little langauge troubles cleared up.
Actually, the US underwear version is always plural, i.e. skivvies, because it's a trademark, although it's passed into the language, like xerox and kleenex.
bon bon - Dec 12, 2002 7:06:41 am PST #814 of 9843
It's five thousand for kissing, ten thousand for snuggling... End of list.
Xerox would NOT be happy to hear you claiming they've been genericized.
Am-Chau Yarkona - Dec 12, 2002 7:11:21 am PST #815 of 9843
I bop to Wittgenstein. -- Nutty
like xerox and kleenex.
Now, they haven't been genericized in Britian (typing 'over here' doesn't actually help much, Am-Chau!) but other things have. Do you know what a hoover is?
billytea - Dec 12, 2002 7:27:36 am PST #816 of 9843
You were a wrong baby who grew up wrong. The wrong kind of wrong. It's better you hear it from a friend.
So I looked up 'skivvy' on M-W, to see which option they would list. Their choice? Neither:
Main Entry: skiv·vy
Etymology: origin unknown
Date: circa 1902
British : a female domestic servant
Am-Chau Yarkona - Dec 12, 2002 7:32:56 am PST #817 of 9843
I bop to Wittgenstein. -- Nutty
Well, billytea, my Concise Oxford agrees with you, and the others too:
skivvy n. 1 (colloq., derog.) Female domestic servant. 2. Thin-high necked long-sleeved garment (in pl., underwear of vest and underpants). [20th cent. origin unknown.]
Am-Chau Yarkona - Dec 12, 2002 7:40:06 am PST #818 of 9843
I bop to Wittgenstein. -- Nutty
but the darling Cassel Dictionary of Slang (Green), offers these options:
skivvies, pl. n. 1. men's underwear, esp. underpants 2. a vest, esp. in the forn of a skivvy shirt 3. a pair of light slippers [ety. unknown (3) ? link to skivvy, n, i.e. typical Japanese footwear]
skivvy, n. [late 19th cent.] a derog. term for a Japanese person [presumably var. on skibby, n., although citations put dates at variance]
skivvy n., [20th cent.] maid of all work [? slavey, see also ety. for skibby]
So there you have it. Well, more of it, anyway.
DXMachina - Dec 12, 2002 7:56:28 am PST #819 of 9843
You always do this. We get tipsy, and you take advantage of my love of the scientific method.
Xerox would NOT be happy to hear you claiming they've been genericized.
I know they fight vigorously to maintain their trademark, but in practice, a helluva lot of people have used their name generically for a long time.
Sophia Brooks - Dec 12, 2002 8:10:40 am PST #820 of 9843
Cats to become a rabbit should gather immediately now here
Well, we have a Sharp copier, but I "xerox" on it, not "sharp"