smelly

[Ju]

1. The pants stinks.

2. The pants are smelling bad.

3. The pants are smelly.


Are the above meaning the same and which are colloquial?


ju

 

[Rover_KE]

1. The pants stink. (Not stinks.)

2. The pants smell bad.

3. The pants are smelly. OK

They mean the same and are all colloquial.

Rover

 

[emsr2d2]

Remember the difference in meaning of "pants" between BrE and AmE.

In BrE, your pants are your underwear (knickers for females and Y-fronts/boxer shorts etc for men)

In AmE, pants are a pair of trousers (pair of trousers being the BrE version).

To confuse the issue, "pants" attracts the plural, but a "pair of trousers" takes the singular.

Those pants are smelly.
That pair of trousers is smelly.

However (!), in BrE, we sometimes don't bother with "pair of" and just call them trousers. In that case, they're plural:

Those trousers are smelly.

Don't you just love English?! :-D

 

[nyota]

By the way, I heard (yes I know, it couldn't get more vague, but I truly can't recall the source) that the word 'trousers' is falling out of use in BrE or perhaps becoming less popular? Is it true? Do you go for 'pants' more often to mean 'trousers'?

 

[emsr2d2]

By the way, I heard (yes I know, it couldn't get more vague, but I truly can't recall the source) that the word 'trousers' is falling out of use in BrE or perhaps becoming less popular? Is it true? Do you go for 'pants' more often to mean 'trousers'?

I can't speak for anyone under the age of 40, but I have never used "pants" instead of "trousers", nor do I intend to. I have not heard anyone else do so in BrE. The only example I can think of is when referring to a specific type of clothing - "pirata pants" as worn by Rafael Nadal when playing tennis. They wouldn't be described as "pirata trousers" even in BrE.

However, given that a lot of young people are starting to adopt a lot of American terms for all sorts of things, it wouldn't surprise me if "pants" might be used more often.

Young people today, eh?! Wow, I'm showing my age.

 

[Mehrgan]

And, how about pongy?

 

[bhaisahab]

And, how about pongy?

Yes, colloquially.

 

[nyota]

I can't speak for anyone under the age of 40, but I have never used "pants" instead of "trousers", nor do I intend to. [...] Young people today, eh?! Wow, I'm showing my age.

That's my way of tricking people into telling their age. ;-)

 

[emsr2d2]

And, how about pongy?

And whiffy.
And funky. (AmE I believe)

 

[Tdol]

By the way, I heard (yes I know, it couldn't get more vague, but I truly can't recall the source) that the word 'trousers' is falling out of use in BrE or perhaps becoming less popular? Is it true? Do you go for 'pants' more often to mean 'trousers'?

I might be showing my age to, but I haven't heard pants being used this way. It was used a slang term for rubbish/no good, but not trousers IMO.

 

[nyota]

I might be showing my age to, but...

The more the merrier!

PS. Somebody stole 'o' in your 'too'

...I haven't heard pants being used this way. It was used a slang term for rubbish/no good, but not trousers IMO.

Woah, wasn't aware of this use of 'pants'. :up:

pants (adj) [not before noun] BrE spoken informal - very bad: The concert was pants. Longman

 

[emsr2d2]

The more the merrier!

PS. Somebody stole 'o' in your 'too'



Woah, wasn't aware of this use of 'pants'. :up:

pants (adj) [not before noun] BrE spoken informal - very bad: The concert was pants. Longman

Yes, it's in use quite a lot including by me and some of my friends.

The concert I have tickets to tonight has been cancelled. That's pants!!

 

[Tdol]

Is it still in use? I didn't hear it last time I was in the UK so I assumed it had faded- that's one problem with only making short visits. ;-)

 

[5jj]

Is it still in use? I didn't hear it last time I was in the UK so I assumed it had faded- that's one problem with only making short visits. ;-)

I had just about got used to this meaning, when my son (30) and his friends recently started using it to mean "excellent"!

 

[nyota]

I had just about got used to this meaning, when my son (30) and his friends recently started using it to mean "excellent"!

That's just rude.

 

[emsr2d2]

I had just about got used to this meaning, when my son (30) and his friends recently started using it to mean "excellent"!

What a difference 10 years (in age) can make. I haven't heard it used to mean "excellent" at all. Oh well, I don't mind being behind the times!

 

[Barb_D]

I'm not sure why "sick" means "really great" either.

One of the reasons that I caution English learners to not use slang unless they acquire it organically, and not through a Web site. I'd sound ridiculous saying "That's sick!" for something that was great.