Philosophical question about women's lingerie

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The discussion revolves around the linguistic curiosity of why "panties" is plural while "bra" is singular. Participants explore various theories, including the historical origins of the terms and the conventions of English grammar. Some suggest that "panties" may refer to a pair of undergarments, while "bra" is often seen as a singular item. The conversation takes a humorous turn with playful banter about the complexities of English and the peculiarities of undergarment terminology. There are also lighthearted comments about the discomfort of certain styles of underwear and the absurdity of societal norms surrounding them. Overall, the thread combines linguistic exploration with comedic exchanges, reflecting on the quirks of language and fashion.
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Why is the word "Panties" plural but "Bra" singular?
 
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Are you trying to pick up the slack while Saint's away? :smile:
 
It's an honest question, I've been thinking about this for a very very long time. Don't mock me, mockery is immoral!
 
Smurf said:
Don't mock me, mockery is immoral!
ha ha ha! oh, yes - I forgot! :smile:
 
Smurf said:
Why is the word "Panties" plural but "Bra" singular?
Well, philosophically speaking, giggle, giggle giggle, he said "panties and bra," giggle, giggle giggle.
:-p :redface: :redface: :redface: :smile: giggle, giggle giggle
 
Giggling is immoral
 
oh dear! what's happened?

Smurf has turned into SAINT? :eek: :eek: :eek:
 
Smurf said:
I've been thinking about this for a very very long time.

Careful, you'll ruin your eyesight. Have you tried digging your fingernails into your palms? This sometimes helps.
 
Math Is Hard said:
oh dear! what's happened?

Smurf has turned into SAINT? :eek: :eek: :eek:

It must be a symbiont of some sort! When one user goes away, it infects a new host! Aaaaacckkkk!
 
  • #10
Math Is Hard said:
oh dear! what's happened?

Smurf has turned into SAINT? :eek: :eek: :eek:
Did he have to perform three confirmed miracles to do that?
 
  • #11
Smurf said:
Why is the word "Panties" plural but "Bra" singular?

Yeah, right ! :rolleyes:

Better luck walking up to a Templar Knight and asking his to kindly hand over the Grail thingy.
 
  • #12
Well, my guess is because the word "brassiere" is to damn hard to say!
 
  • #13
Over-the-shoulder-boulder-holder?

Panties <-- pants <-- pantaloons.

pantaloons
• plural noun 1 women’s baggy trousers gathered at the ankles. 2 historical men’s close-fitting breeches fastened below the calf or at the foot.

— ORIGIN from Pantalone, a character in Italian commedia dell’arte represented as a foolish old man wearing pantaloons.

Edit :Websters 1828 - PANTALOON', n.

1. A garment for males in which breeches and stockings are in a piece; a species of close long trowsers extending to the heels. /edit

In other words, I still don't know why it's plural.I had assumed that pants come with a right pant and a left pant. :biggrin:
 
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  • #14
Smurf said:
Why is the word "Panties" plural but "Bra" singular?

I always thought that Bra was shorthand notation for &lt;Bra|ket&gt; and you only need one &lt;Bra|ket&gt; to describe the function in question: &lt;\bigodot|\bigodot &gt;. :rolleyes:

You guys are going to get me kicked off this site for displaying my expertise in the field of Graphic Functional Analysis. :cool:
 
  • #15
hey! there's a slide rule in the cleavage! I guess that's a handy place to carry it.
 
  • #16
hey! there's a slide rule in the cleavage! I guess that's a handy place to carry it.

Or they'd never let you get past the security check at the airport.

The last guy that tried to sneak a slide rule, a periodic table and a Russian manual (titled Atomik Urok) into an airplane was caught and shipped straight to Gitmo. It was several days before they eventually released Dmitri Mendeleev. :biggrin:

(kindly excuse the anachronism - 'Olga Lindeman' wouldn't have had the same effect)
 
  • #17
If I tried to sneak my Hemmi on board, do you think I'd be 'busted' for possessing weapons of math instruction? :biggrin:
 
  • #18
Math Is Hard said:
hey! there's a slide rule in the cleavage! I guess that's a handy place to carry it.

Well there's always the informal cross-your-heart (Bra)(ket) notation that will lift and separate your variables for added functional support: (\bigodot )(\bigodot)

I wasn't sure if I should include this informal graphical analysis option on a formal scientific site. :wink:
 
  • #19
This is a very akward question. First you need to restate the question, because it can easily be misinterpreted.

Do you mean why is the word panties plural and the word bra singular; as in, why does the english language put an s at the end of many(there are probably exceptions) words to show that it is plural?

This is not what I think you meant, but I am not sure.

Or did you mean this: Why do we say that a woman(or anyone) is wearing "panties" when she is clearly only wearing one pair of these "panties," so it should not be plural.

I would say it is just one of the many incorrect uses of the english language. Another could be that it just sounds better (but is this just because we have become accustomed to hearing it said this way?)
 
  • #20
but fellas, aren't you wearing a 'pair' of underwear? same difference, right?
 
  • #21
Pair of pants too. But with Pair of Socks, hmm. Stupid English language :cry:
 
  • #22
Maybe before they had pants, people only wore socks. Slowly the socks evolved into a single unit, but the stupid cavemen didn't think carefully when they came up with 'pants' or 'pantaloons', or whatever.
 
  • #23
Math Is Hard said:
If I tried to sneak my Hemmi on board, do you think I'd be 'busted' for possessing weapons of math instruction? :biggrin:

Depends on how you handle it when the security guy peeks down your blouse and asks you :

"That thing got a hemmi ?"
 
  • #24
Gokul43201 said:
Depends on how you handle it when the security guy peeks down your blouse and asks you :

"That thing got a hemmi ?"
If the TSA officer is cute, I just whisper in his ear, "I might have something illegal on me, but you're going to have to find it." :wink:
 
  • #25
Ask your question again
and you get your plural

The Myth
 
  • #26
As for singular
ask tits

Only Myth
 
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  • #27
NeutronStar said:
Well there's always the informal cross-your-heart (Bra)(ket) notation that will lift and separate your variables for added functional support: (\bigodot )(\bigodot)

I wasn't sure if I should include this informal graphical analysis option on a formal scientific site. :wink:

GOOD LORD! Those things are staring me! They look absolutely.. I dunno.. SURPRISED!
 
  • #28
NeutronStar said:
[ itex](\bigodot )(\bigodot)[/itex ]

Now, if I ever have to go the the BMV (DMV) here, and I see the sign saying 'ODOT' (Ohio Dept of Transportation) in big letters, I'm not going to be able to get this picture out of my head.

Worry not Neutron, we are eternally grateful for info of such types.
 
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  • #29
mattmns said:
Pair of pants too. But with Pair of Socks, hmm. Stupid English language :cry:
Merriam Webster says it's "panty" but is often used in the plural form "panties", so yes it is a word that has been misused to the point of being accepted.

Don't forget there are "pantaloons", "trousers" "briefs", "boxers". I guess if it's below the waist, it ends in an "s". :wink:
 
  • #30
It's just too dang confusing for me. This is why I gave up wearing underwear in the first place!
 
  • #31
Evo said:
I guess if it's below the waist, it ends in an "s".



Speak for yourself!
 
  • #32
Evo said:
Don't forget there are "pantaloons", "trousers" "briefs", "boxers". I guess if it's below the waist, it ends in an "s". :wink:

But for some inconceivable reason, it's 'pantyhose' :confused:
 
  • #33
Ivan Seeking said:
Speak for yourself!


:smile: :smile: :smile:
 
  • #34
Math Is Hard said:
It's just too dang confusing for me. This is why I gave up wearing underwear in the first place!
Good call, MIH! :smile: :smile: :smile: Bras especially need to be burned! The guy who invented them needs to have a scrotogram done with the mammogram machine! :smile: :smile:
 
  • #35
Gokul43201 said:
But for some inconceivable reason, it's 'pantyhose' :confused:

Hmm I always thought of pantyhose as two pieces, like socks, but according to my dictionary (webster) it refers to pantyhose as a one piece garment, and "consisting" of, I guess, two parts.
"Pantyhose: A woman's one-piece undergarment that consists of stockings and underpants." :confused:

edit... ok I did an image search on "pantyhose" and I guess they are one piece. *Continues to look at pictures: Has to go do something for five minutes* :biggrin:
 
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  • #36
That's why he said "for yourself".

Little Kitty doesn't end with an 's'.
 
  • #37
Math Is Hard said:
If I tried to sneak my Hemmi on board, do you think I'd be 'busted' for possessing weapons of math instruction? :biggrin:
You got a big grin out of me for that one.
:biggrin: :biggrin: :biggrin:
 
  • #38
Tsunami said:
Good call, MIH! :smile: :smile: :smile: Bras especially need to be burned! The guy who invented them needs to have a scrotogram done with the mammogram machine! :smile: :smile:
Yeowch! :eek:
Artman said:
You got a big grin out of me for that one.
Thanks! I try to recycle that gag whenever possible!
 
  • #39
I had occasion to visit a department store recently and noticed a manikin wearing butt-floss panties. I am baffled by this for several reasons. Surely it must at best be uncomfortable to have a string rubbing ones anus in such a manner. It was not a bikini to be worn for the pleasure of some viewing public and at best only a scant minimum protection for your outer garments could be provided. If panty lines are that much an issue why not simply save $14.95 and wear no undergarments at all? What is the psychological motivation ‘behind’ (tee hee hee) this?
 
  • #40
BoulderHead said:
I had occasion to visit a department store recently and noticed a manikin wearing butt-floss panties. I am baffled by this for several reasons. Surely it must at best be uncomfortable to have a string rubbing ones anus in such a manner. It was not a bikini to be worn for the pleasure of some viewing public and at best only a scant minimum protection for your outer garments could be provided. If panty lines are that much an issue why not simply save $14.95 and wear no undergarments at all? What is the psychological motivation ‘behind’ (tee hee hee) this?

Aww, c'mon, you're not supposed to wear them that long. If you wear them that long, then you're doing something wrong! What you described are definitely not intended to solve panty line problems (even thongs don't really accomplish that...they still leave "thong" lines instead of panty lines).
 
  • #41
Yes because us guys really hate those panty lines, umm yeah that's it, women should just wear no panties, to get rid of those hideous panty lines that us guys really hate. :smile:
 
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