Re: "a Pair of Panties" ?????

On 01/07/2024 07:56, Hibou wrote:

Le 01/07/2024 à 04:44, HenHanna a écrit :

>
A pair of pants,    or    A pair of trousers
>
                  ... ok because each Pair kinda looks like  [2 pipes].
>
    ...but...
              "a Pair of Panties" ?????

 
There appears to be a class of things that exist only in the plural - a
pair of tweezers, scissors, pliers, sunglasses... trousers, underpants,
knickers, tights... - things that bifurcate or are made up of two bits.
I suppose the briefer garments inherited the plural from longer ones
(though a few minutes' searching yields no support for this; briefs were
apparently in use in Ancient Egypt).
 
I observe that the kilt is singular - two legs, but only one hole.
 

While in Aberdeen, the question arose: "what's the difference between a
kilt and a skirt? What do Scottish women wear?"

The wittiest answer I got was that Scotsmen call it a 'kilt' to avoid
the embarrassment of having to admit that they are wearing a skirt.