tighty whities
English
[edit]
Alternative forms
[edit]- tighty-whities, tighty-whiteys, tightie-whities, tightie whities, tighty whiteys, tightie whiteys, tight whites, whitey tighties
Etymology
[edit]From tight + -y and white + -y.
Pronunciation
[edit]Noun
[edit]tighty whities pl (plural only, attributive tighty-whitey)
- (originally US, colloquial, often derogatory) Men's or boys' traditionally white briefs.
- 1999, Noah Hawley, A Conspiracy of Tall Men, page 345:
- Forbes, in his tighty whities and black socks, seems an incongruous apparition against the sense of home the kitchen implies.
- 2000, Edward Lerner, Creative Destruction, page 29:
- It would indeed be great if my red socks and my tighty whities declared themselves to my washer.
- 2012, Alice Randall, Ada’s Rules: A Sexy Skinny Novel, page 97:
- Temple was laid out with a cold. Ada hoped she hadn't brought baby Jarius's bug out to him. As soon a Ada had gotten the toilets cleaned and the soup on the stove she rubbed her daddy down with a lemon cut in half, then lowered him (wearing purple tighty whities) into a hot bath she had spiked with red pepper flakes and Tabasco. When Temple was up to his shoulders in the water, Ada gave him a shot of whisky.
- 2025, Aziz Gazipura, Not Nice: Stop People Pleasing, Staying Silent, & Feeling Guilty... And Start Speaking Up, Saying No, Asking Boldly, And Unapologetically Being Yourself:
- I wanted to blend in. Be cool. Never be criticized, ridiculed, or rejected. Ever. And so, I began to sculpt my personality to avoid disapproval. If someone who I thought was cool or popular said something funny, I laughed. If people made fun of me for doing something, I stopped doing it. I wore the same clothes everyone else wore, changed the music I listened to, and talked just like everyone else. Boxers are cool and briefs (a.k.a. "tighty whities") are not? I got rid of them. Alternative music sucks and gangster rap is where it's at? I bought new CDs.