panty raid

noun

1. a prankish raid by male college students on the living quarters of female students to steal panties as trophies.

Word History and Origins

Origin of panty raid¹

An Americanism dating back to 1950–55

Example Sentences

In the world of “Widespread Panic,” it’s much easier to imagine James Dean and director Nicholas Ray conspiring to film a panty raid, as Ellroy depicts them, than conspiring to make art, as they once actually did in “Rebel Without a Cause.”

From Washington Post

There are tons of other 11-minute SpongeBob adventures to enjoy, but there’s nothing like watching an episode and having that warm feeling of remembering it; I’m sad I won’t get to have that with that now-infamous “panty raid” episode anymore.

From Slate

But when Patrick suggests a more adult activity, Mr. Krabs perks up: “You’re going to miss … the panty raid,” Patrick says, in a tenor that belies his sudden skeeviness.

From Slate

After the Betas, along with their sister sorority, Pi Delta Pi, release a bunch of pigs into the Lambda house, the Lambdas go on a “panty raid,” breaking into the Pis sorority house, stealing their underwear, rushing into bathrooms to gawk at them naked in the shower, and planting hidden video cameras in the ceiling, which allow them to surveil the women after they have been chased off.

From The New Yorker

The Spring Riot of 1963 was an amazing instance of a failed panty raid resulting in widespread unrest.

From The New Yorker