Transatlantic subtleties: The Jumper
We all know that Americans become figures of fun across the Atlantic when they start innocently mentioning pants, vests, and suspenders; but the opportunites for sartorial confusion don't stop there.
Just in case, though, here's a quick run down of the basics:
US pants = UK trousers
US vest = UK waistcoat
US suspenders = UK braces
If you want to talk about your underpinnings in the US, you can say underpants, underwear, or possibly "skivvies" for slang. Knickers, confusingly, are a knee-length trouser-type item more like knickerbockers. Panties are panties, but nobody wants to have to say that.
A (UK) vest in the US is an undershirt, and suspenders are a suspender belt.
In the UK/Ireland, a shirt is only a long- or short-sleeved article of clothing that has buttons all the way down the front - made of material which generally calls for you to bust out the iron. A t-shirt is a short-sleeved, collarless top of softer jersey material. Anything else (in womenswear, at least) that is a first-layer item (not counting a camisole, or a thermal vest, depending on the season) falls under the general heading of "top", with qualifiers like "long-sleeved top" or "going-out top" or "sleeveless top".
In the US, the word "shirt" can be applied to almost anything you wear on your top half, short of a sweater. And sweater covers everything else, whether it's a giant, slouchy thing with a sporting logo on it or a cosy cashmere turtleneck, or even a cardigan. (Though those other words are applicable too.)
Which brings us to jumper.
I was bemused, one day in Ireland while watching The Simpsons, to hear Bart being teased by his sister, who said something about his needing to wear a jumper. This didn't sound like such an awful fate, because as far as I was concerned, a jumper is a knitted sweater - but with a leap of great mental acuity, I surmised that there was more to it in the USA. Many moons later (this was before the advent of the Internet to my house, or anywhere handy, I suppose) I figured it out: a jumper in the US is what I would call a pinafore - a dress that goes over a shirt (or top), the sort of thing that's often part of a girl's school uniform.
Have I forgotten anything?
I leave you with this gem of Irish pop. If you don't know a boy who left his jumper in some dark corner of the disco and now can't find it, well, you probably haven't been to an Irish disco yet.
Labels: ex-pat, language, Transatlantic subtleties
posted by Maud @ 8:34 PM
7 Comments
7 Comments:
When I was in England with a friend, she thought it was funny that we'd describe a well-dressed person as "looking sharp," rather than "looking smart."
Make doubly sure you don't refer to your khaki pants (aka poopy trousers) in the UK.
Fabulous. And you are dead on about the panties thing. That's what we call them around our house, but I always feel funny saying it outside of the house!
Excellent information - I'll immediately stop talking about Walt's jumpers on the knitting forums ... I still haven't pinned down what is considered a 'blouse' in the US - I don't think it's the same as our Irish blouse - a ladies' shirt :)
Emma, I should have mentioned that what we'd call a shirt at home is specifically a "button-down" shirt over here. I think they say blouse, but I've never really thought about that one - due to the great dearth of blouses in my own wardrobe, I suppose. Maybe someone else can help us with that one...
In the US, a blouse is always a ladies' shirt, usually button-down, generally a dressy shirt of some kind of silkyish material, but I've seen things referred to as blouses that weren't button-down. There's a difference between a blouse and a button-down oxford, though, like the plain kind of shirt you wear with a suit. Also, generally only grandma-types refer to their shirts as blouses.
Thanks Bethany! That's pretty much what I would expect, but maybe I've been here too long...
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