pantywaist

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English

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Etymology

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(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

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  • Audio (US):(file)

Adjective

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pantywaist (not comparable)

  1. (informal, especially of a male person) Weak, timid, effeminate, ineffectual.
    His rough, burly father was mortified by the lad's pantywaist behavior.

Noun

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pantywaist (plural pantywaists)

  1. (informal, dated) An undergarment composed, in part, of panties attached to a waistband.
    • 1929 April 29, “The Altman Sale of Children's Underwear”, in The New York Times, display advertisement, page 16:
      Lace trimmed panty waists—50 cents.
  2. (informal, derogatory) An ineffectual, weak, or timid person, especially a boy or young man; a sissy.
    • 1943 January 24, Hal Borland, “'Baedekers' for Our Fighters: So you're going abroad, says Uncle Sam”, in The New York Times, page SM14:
      Don't be misled by the British tendency to be soft-spoken and polite. The English language didn't spread across the oceans and over the mountains and jungles and swamps because these people were pantywaists.

Synonyms

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References

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