Posted by:
Karen (---.syd.ops.aspac.uu.net)
Apropos of previous discussion on variants of English (did someone call Aust English "pseudo-English", how very mean?!)
An English friend told me she was mystified by signs reading "No Thongs" sometimes seen at pubs here in Australia. She wondered why women (or men) wearing skimpy underwear would be a problem for publicans but later discovered that in Aust thongs are footwear - in the UK or is it the USA these are called "flipflops' I think.
Also my physiotherapist returned from a year o/s where he often told people to "take off their pants" (which here means your long trousers -either men or women's) say if he was going to inspect their lower back and got shocked when he turned around to find someone naked from the waist down- cos apparently "pants" refers to underpants - quite a difference!.
Oh we laugh at these things don't we?