undershorts
nounEtymology From under- + shorts, by analogy with underpants, etc.
1
Dated Underpants, type of underwear worn in skin contact with the hip portion of the body, small enough to be worn invisibly under shorts. Typically refers to male, not female, underpants.
- I have one clean pair of undershorts.
- I have to buy more undershorts.
3 more examples
- It being very warm, I removed all of my clothing except my undershorts and lay down to sleep.1934, Edgar Rice Burroughs, chapter 3, in Pirates of Venus, page 41:
- […] like a mouse [I] hop frantically about on my toes, trying to clear my feet of my undershorts before anybody can peek inside, where, to my chagrin, to my bafflement, to my mortification, I always discover in the bottommost seam a pale and wispy brushstroke of my shit.1969, Philip Roth, “The Jewish Blues”, in Portnoy’s Complaint, New York: Vintage, published 1994, page 47:
- I have been debriefed—I believe that is the current expression, though I am always tempted, when I hear it, to make sure I still have my undershorts on—by the mandarins of the External Affairs Ministry.1989, Shashi Tharoor, “The Thirteenth Book: Passages through India”, in The Great Indian Novel, New York: Arcade, published 1993, page 268:
- Related terms
- briefs, boxer shorts, jockey shorts