Today while folding laundry, I picked up a pair of pants from a nearby basket and it got me to questioning, as random moments often do… why do we in the English language call them “pairs of pants”, when there is only one?
My first thought was, duh, there are two leg holes, but what about a shirt or jacket? There are two arms and hence two arms holes, so I guess the question is, why are these not pairs? And don’t even get me started on panties.
So why the difference?
Well, unlike pants, a shirt is basically a covering for the torso and does not require sleeves. That seems obvious enough, and I guess the same theory is supposed to apply to a Jacket (but that doesn’t quite make sense to me.)
In other English speaking countries, I have heard it common for them to speak of a pair of compasses (drawing), and a pair of nutcrackers.
And as for panties, even though they aren’t really a pair of anything, having ( I would think) no legs, the association probably stems from the expression, “pair of pants.”
Well, I suppose the English language never claimed to make any sense.
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