Further note on the garments, both tee shirts and a-shirts or armhole shirts were originally made as undergarments for men, almost exclusively in white. Jean Seaberg famously catapulted the tee shirt into fashion as an outer garment, and I believe Brando in Streetcar did the same for the A-shirt. Sometime in the mid-century, FotL, and Hanes took note again (no flies on them) and produced both garments in colors, adding a cigarette pocket to the tee.

/more than anybody ever wanted to know.

YAY ND!!

Yeehoooo, Drew! Congrats, man.

I grew up with "gyped," and "jewed him down," as well as every other racial and ethnic slur you can probably think of as my daily lexicon. I've worked hard to eliminate the ones I recognize, and to recognize the ones that, through familiarity, still slip through the filter occasionally. I don't use tramp stamp, nor ass antlers. True to my rep for being pedantic, it's a lower-back or above the tailbone tattoo. A-shirts (white), or tanks (colored), because I won't use the term wife-beater. Whether it refers to the action or a class or whatever, the term makes me flinch, so I don't use it.

Frogs and hoptoads do escape my lips once in a while, but I try to be vigilant.

I mean, what you're saying is "I know the term is associated with and in many cases can be read as supporting domestic violence, but *I* don't mean it like that, so it's okay, no matter how it sounds to other people when I use it."

You are ignoring everything I've said in here today.

I don't think men who beat their wives are a protected class.

That's what I've been saying in a nutshell.

And please don't tell me what you call Brazil nuts.

Please don't be disingenuous, Steph, or insult my intelligence. The alternate term for Brazil nuts has been a topic of conversation in this thread. This particular phrasing of this question is a direct insinuation that I call them "nigger toes." That is flat out calling me a racist, right here, right now, to my face. I find that extremely problematic, and considering you are an editor, and an extremely adept user of the English language, if you even try to tell me that wasn't exactly what you were trying to do with that sentence, I'm going to call you a liar.

I'd like an apology from you, right here, right now, for calling me a racist.

Huge congrats on the lack of tube, ND!

Over here we call undershirts 'vests'. This term covers a multitude of garments from camis to the ones that look like they're made out of string, which I presume is the type in question here. (I remember when I first asked my Canadian PCA to find me a vest. Twenty minutes she spent looking through my clothes, before I realised my error.)

/more than anybody ever wanted to know.

I disagree with that part

random youtube searching has just uncovered a bunch of videos of my nephew skateboarding. I knew he was talented but it's so cool that these kids are following each other and taping so you can watch the series of tricks. Some of these are almost as good as professional skating videos.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleeveless_shirt

If wikipedia is to be believed, Those Shirts have similarly colorful names around the world:

The etymology of the term "A-shirt," which is preferred by manufacturers, is uncertain. Some claim that it is short for "athletic shirt" because it is often worn in sports, such as basketball and track-and-field events, while others say that it refers to the "A" shape when laid out flat (compare the origin of the word "T-shirt"). In the United States, it is also known colloquially as a wife beater, Guinea tee or Dago tee (from guinea and dago, ethnic slurs against Italians).[citation needed] In British English, the A-shirt is known as a vest.[1] ((cf.) American usage of vest) In India it is referred to as Banain, Bandi. In Scots vernacular it is referred to as a semmit,[2] and as a singlet in Australia and New Zealand. In Colombia it’s known as a busca pleitos meaning trouble seeker, in reference to its usage by violent individuals. In Spain they used to be called camiseta imperio (Imperial t-shirt). In the former Soviet Union it’s known as alkogolichka (alcoholic) as it's often worn by alcoholics[3]. In addition to athletic usage, A-shirts have traditionally been used as undershirts, especially with suits and dress shirts.

Please don't be disingenuous, Steph, or insult my intelligence. The alternate term for Brazil nuts has been a topic of conversation in this thread. This particular phrasing of this question is a direct insinuation that I call them "nigger toes." That is flat out calling me a racist, right here, right now, to my face. I find that extremely problematic, and considering you are an editor, and an extremely adept user of the English language, if you even try to tell me that wasn't exactly what you were trying to do with that sentence, I'm going to call you a liar.

I'd like an apology from you, right here, right now, for calling me a racist.

I did not mean to imply that you are racist. That said, I recognize that my intent does NOT matter.

What I wrote was extremely thoughtless and the implication is ugly.

What I said was wrong, and I sincerely apologize to you, Sean.

Again, I do not think nor have I ever thought you were or are a racist.

I apologize to the rest of you for my thoughtless remark as well.

Yay Drew!

I tend to not like "wife beater" because I have to say it a lot, in semi-serious contexts, and wish there was a universal word for it that was not at least potentially offensive. Whenever I say "A-shirt" I have to explain what I mean. I used to call it a "Marlon Brando in Streetcar Named Desire" shirt, but that is unweildy.

the ones that look like they're made out of string

When I hear that description, I think of the mesh shirts that are apparently a fashion choice of men who want their bodies admired. Are they actually an openwork shirt, as opposed to solid cloth?