knickers

[ nik-erz ]

noun

, (used with a plural verb)

1. Also knick·er·bock·ers [] loose-fitting short trousers gathered in at the knees.
2. Chiefly British.
   1. a bloomerslike undergarment worn by women.
   2. panties.
3. British Informal. a woman's or girl's short-legged underpants.

knickers

/ ˈnɪkəz /

plural noun

1. an undergarment for women covering the lower trunk and sometimes the thighs and having separate legs or leg-holes
2. a US variant of knickerbockers
3. get one's knickers in a twist slang.
   to become agitated, flustered, or upset

Word History and Origins

Origin of knickers¹

1880–85; shortened form of knickerbockers, plural of knickerbocker, special use of Knickerbocker

Word History and Origins

Origin of knickers¹

C19: contraction of knickerbockers

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. to get one's knickers in a twist, British Slang. to get flustered or agitated:

   Don't get your knickers in a twist every time the telephone rings.

Example Sentences

“Obviously if I get in with no knickers, on my head be it.”

From BBC

Guess, a remix of the Brat original, dropped on Thursday night and showed Billie smashing into a party on a bulldozer surrounded by thousands of bras and knickers.

From BBC

Costs for period knickers range from £8 to £46 for a pack of three online.

From BBC

What makes "Barbie" different is that it's a smash hit and an obvious culture-defining moment, meaning that right-wing pundits can get attention by getting their knickers twisted up about it.

From Salon

Ollie Robinson has played the role of provocateur to twist the knickers of the Aussie media.

From BBC

Related Words

• shorts
• slacks
• trousers
• underpants

More About Knickers

What does knickers mean?

Knickers most commonly refers to women’s underwear.

Knickers is primarily used in the U.K., where it may sound a little old-fashioned or childish—a lot of British people think of knickers as what grandmothers and little girls wear (as opposed to underwear). It is often used to intentionally imply such associations or to be funny.

In the U.S., knickers was once used to refer to breeches, a kind of knee-length pants once popular for men and boys. But both the pants and the word for them are rarely used anymore.

Example: My mum bought me some new knickers that look like they’re for my granny.

Where does knickers come from?

Knickers has quite a twisted word history. The first records of knickers referring to clothing come from the late 1800s. It is a shortened form of knickerbockers, a type of baggy breeches fastened at the knee. Knickerbockers got their name from Diedrich Knickerbocker, the fictional author of Washington Irving’s A History of New York (1809), in part of which he chronicles the history of Dutch settlers in America. The word knickerbocker became a nickname for the descendants of those settlers and for the type of pants they traditionally wore. (Eventually, it became a nickname for anyone from New York and, much later, the name of a New York basketball team).

Knickers is a short way of referring to the pants called knickerbockers. This use was once common in the U.S. But in the U.K., knickers are always underwear. Sometimes, the word specifically refers to a kind of loose-fitting underwear similar to bloomers (knickerbocker-like pants once worn by women in the U.S. as an alternative to dresses). More informally, it can also refer to the kind of short-legged underwear often called boyshorts. Knickers can also be used in a general way to mean “panties.”

Knickers appears in a few British idioms, including most commonly get one’s knickers in a twist (or bunch or knot), which means “to get overly upset” and is typically used in a rude command not to do that. (The U.S. equivalent is get one’s panties in a twist/bunch/knot, reflecting the fact that panties is a close synonym of knickers.)

Did you know ... ?

What are some other forms related to knickers?

• knickered (adjective)

What are some synonyms for knickers?

• panties
• breeches
• bloomers

What are some words that share a root or word element with knickers? 

 

• knickerbockers

 

What are some words that often get used in discussing knickers?

 

• underwear
• pants
• trousers

How is knickers used in real life?

Knickers referring to some kind of underwear is primarily used in the U.K., especially to be a bit funny.

Put clean knickers on. In case. #classic6wordIrishshortstory

— joan cooke (@joancooke5) September 1, 2019

Tottenham's gradient jersey makes them look like chubby, middle-aged men running around with their old-timey knickers pulled too high.

— furf (@furf) September 17, 2018

A lot of people getting their knickers in a twist over a couple of movies missing from the portfolio. £50 or £60 for the year is a superb deal for what you get.

— GerryBhoy (@retrobotik) March 24, 2020

 

 

Try using knickers!

Which of the following words is NOT a synonym of knickers?

A. panties
B. underwear
C. long johns
D. bloomers