h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

*As if by Magic, Munchkin appeared* As to trousers/pants, I often call them troos in a somewhat over the top Scots way and wear boxer shorts, having given up on pants when they stopped having pictures of Spiderman on the front.

Oh, and if you really want to know about British Kiddies TV then http://geocities.com/watchedit/ is good, although has more of a seventies/eighties bent.

*Off toddles Munchkin with that internal-injury-indicating walk that Bod had*

I've never heard of trolleys.
Except supermarket.

Not to be confused with Mr.Ben, Mr.Benn was another figure who delighted us in childhood - and still does when they let him out of the asylum. I jest of course. Not about the asylum, because Anthony Wedgewood Benn actually believes what he says and this is obviously madness for a politician, but about him delighting us in childhood.
I really want to know if 'trolleys' are trousers or underpants. Will nobody help me? (The last line, by the way, is a quote from that epitome of British savoire faire Naughty Norman. No, not Norman Lamont, Norman from fireman Sam.)

One of my colleagues refers to his trousers as 'kegs'. He is a sad person...

Who couldn't be sad of a Friday afternoon, K. No work for two days! Its hardly right is it? (And go easy on that caffeine, old girl)

Erm, "kegs" (also "keks") are underpants...also sometimes called "togs" although this is more comonly used for swimming trunks...

Thanks, everyone...the input really helped. I just wanted to make sure I didn't describe someone running about in their underwear. And about Mr. Ben...I could enjoy that show now but I don't think it has ever shown in the US. Was there a children's show called Dr. Snuggles?

Sadly, there was.

fair to middling. Not a comment, but a proposal for the vocabulary.

I've always called them pants, and trousers.... no more no less

Anyhow!?? Why is this conversation called British English!??? I always thought English was .... umm.... English..?!

And besides we're not english anyhow! We're all dutch

Trolleys are underpants, as are underkeks, shreddies or skiddies. Trousers (including jeans) are keks. Slacks are trousers that ladies of a certain age wear. They are often bright purple and made of stretchy, very obviously man-made material with a loop under the foot, but I digress.

Pants are definitely underwear, and recently have acquired a perjorative air - if you think something is a load of rubbish, you might say (I wouldn't, I'm over 30) that 'it's pants!' If you are really disgusted, you'd call it 'your dad's pants'. I think that's quite descriptive, actually. Certainly, if you speak like that around here (Manchester) you'd be clearly understood, except by my mother. I hope this helps.

Whoops, sorry! I posted my underwear diatribe to Tony Benn's topic. I suppose Tony Benn wears underwear, although it's a moot point whether Mr Ben does. Apologies

those are not slacks but stirrup pants and the strap is to keep them from rideing up with wear like boxers are prone to do

You don't say where you're from, james. Are stirrup pants American, or am I just being numb - I've never heard of them here. It all sounds a bit 'horsey'. Are they riding breeches? Ooh, breeches - have I just opened another can of worms?

Pity the poor person trying make sense of some of our words. The compilers of the Qxford English Dictionary have just announced that the most common word in British English is the word "SET". It appears that it is a noun 52 times and is used as a verb in over 150 places!!

e,g A Set......A badgers den
A complete group of items
A group of games in tennis
etc etc.
or Up set
Re set
Hand set

See how many you can find. Hey! This could keep everybody quiet for hours as a parlour game after Christmas dinner

Thank you for setting us that little task. As far as I know teachers in Britain run a mile on hearing SET

No matter what you call those stretch pants with foot straps, they're especially ugly in bright colors on large women!
As I'm definately way over 30 I'm completely behind in the MTV youth culture lingo applying to anything here in America. In my day trousers and pants were long outer-wear, panties were dainty women's underwear. The hippies usually didn't wear any underwear.

Do we Trillians Child?You mean as in get set,go!

Why can't you be downset? Setcrew, Set square. Is that jelly set?

And slacks! Not just female. There is a type of male trouser that can be termed 'slacks'. Farah, I believe was a brand.

Capri Slacks (halfway up your female calves). See GAP last season. Audrey Hepburn, he swooned. Set fair for dreamland tonight!

should read set screw