[Vocabulary] "turtleneck" vs "mock turtleneck"

[Olympian]

Hello,

The following sentence is referring to Steve Jobs:

If ever there was a showman who knew how to end on a high note—leaving his awed and adoring audience begging for more—it is the man in the trademark black mock turtleneck.

​

I looked up "turtleneck" and "mock turtleneck" on Google images, but I could not see any difference in the photos. Is there a difference? According to the definition of 'mock turtleneck' on Merriam-Webster, it says: "a collar that is lower and usually looser than a turtleneck and is not turned over", but the images shown for 'turtleneck' don't show the collar being turned over. I understand it is also called a 'mock polo neck'

Thank you

 

[bhaisahab]

Hello,

The following sentence is referring to Steve Jobs:

If ever there was a showman who knew how to end on a high note—leaving his awed and adoring audience begging for more—it is the man in the trademark black mock turtleneck.

​

I looked up "turtleneck" and "mock turtleneck" on Google images, but I could not see any difference in the photos. Is there a difference? According to the definition of 'mock turtleneck' on Merriam-Webster, it says: "a collar that is lower and usually looser than a turtleneck and is not turned over", but the images shown for 'turtleneck' don't show the collar being turned over. I understand it is also called a 'mock polo neck'

Thank you

There are several images on the "turtleneck" link that show a rolled (turned over) collar.

 

[Ouisch]

A traditional turtleneck collar extends from the collarbone up to the lower jaw. A mock turtleneck is much shorter, and only goes up to just below the Adam's Apple. Both styles fit snugly around the neck, as opposed to the collar on a polo shirt or an oxford shirt.

 

[konungursvia]

To me, a turtleneck has a fold. It goes up, and then back down. A mock-turtleneck just goes up a bit, almost as far as the fold on a regular turtleneck. This phrase must be British. Mock, over here, has negative connotations of inauthenticity, whereas in Blighty it seems to mean "model" or "replica".

 

[bhaisahab]

Until I read this thread I had never heard of a "mock turtleneck", I had heard "turtleneck" but had always assumed it was an American term for what I call a "roll-neck".;-)

 

[Olympian]

Thank you all for your responses.

@bhaisahab, you are right. Now when I saw it more carefully, I noticed it.

A traditional turtleneck collar extends from the collarbone up to the lower jaw. A mock turtleneck is much shorter, and only goes up to just below the Adam's Apple. Both styles fit snugly around the neck, as opposed to the collar on a polo shirt or an oxford shirt.

@Ouisch, thank you for the explanation and the links.

I noticed that 'polo shirt' and 'polo neck' seem to be two different things. 'Polo neck' and 'turtle neck' seem to be the same thing according to Wikipedia:

A polo neck (UK) or turtle neck (US) or skivvy (Australia) is a garment—usually a sweater—with a close-fitting, round, and high collar that folds over and covers the neck. It can also refer to type of neckline, the style of collar itself, or be used as an adjective ("polo necked").

​

By the way, in your 'oxford shirt' link, after I click on the X to close the image window, I see another image on that webpage. The guy on the left is wearing an Oxford shirt. What is the guy in the right image wearing? Is it a round-necked T? Here we (rightly or wrongly) call a 'polo shirt' a 'T-shirt'. I used to think that it is called a "T" shirt because of the shape the short opening on the shirt makes.

Thank you

 

[Michael84]

Thank you all for your responses.
By the way, in your 'oxford shirt' link, after I click on the X to close the image window, I see another image on that webpage. The guy on the left is wearing an Oxford shirt. What is the guy in the right image wearing? Is it a round-necked T? Here we (rightly or wrongly) call a 'polo shirt' a 'T-shirt'. I used to think that it is called a "T" shirt because of the shape the short opening on the shirt makes.

Thank you

Not a teacher

Yes. That's a round-neck T-shirt.
What do you mean by "Here we (rightly or wrongly) call a 'polo shirt' a 'T-shirt'." ?
I think you can easily distinguish a Polo-shirt from a T-shirt: T-shirts don't have buttons to open or loser the collar. Polo shirts usually have the typical little polo player brand (or a little crocodile) or any other brand's image printed on the breast and the material is of better quality than most T-shirts.

 

[Ouisch]

[/INDENT]By the way, in your 'oxford shirt' link, after I click on the X to close the image window, I see another image on that webpage. The guy on the left is wearing an Oxford shirt. What is the guy in the right image wearing? Is it a round-necked T? Here we (rightly or wrongly) call a 'polo shirt' a 'T-shirt'. I used to think that it is called a "T" shirt because of the shape the short opening on the shirt makes.

Thank you

That rounded neck on the man's T-shirt in the photo is called a "crew neck" in AmE. "Polo neck" is strictly BrE and refers to what Americans call a "turtleneck." :-D

 

[Olympian]

Not a teacher

Yes. That's a round-neck T-shirt.
What do you mean by "Here we (rightly or wrongly) call a 'polo shirt' a 'T-shirt'." ?
I think you can easily distinguish a Polo-shirt from a T-shirt: T-shirts don't have buttons to open or loser the collar. They usually have the typical little polo player brand (or a little crocodile) or any other brand's image printed on the breast and the material is of better quality than most T-shirts.

@Michael84, In India, we call the Polo-shirts as 'T-shirts'. The reason I wrote 'rightly or wrongly' is that I don't know if it can be called a 'T-shirt' or not, because in some kind of English (such as BrE or AmE) it might be OK, but not in the other. Also, after looking up the Oxford Dict 'T-shirt' it seems that it is a wide term.

noun

a short-sleeved casual top , generally made of cotton, having the shape of a T when spread out flat.
​

There is no description of buttons and so on.

The round-neck T-shirt (or as Ouisch writes it is called 'crew neck') was not used (or not popular) in India many years ago, but the polo shirt version (called 'T-shirt' here) has been in use for a long time. But these days, it is common for kids and young people to wear such crew neck.

@Ouisch, thank you

 

[konungursvia]

Until I read this thread I had never heard of a "mock turtleneck", I had heard "turtleneck" but had always assumed it was an American term for what I call a "roll-neck".;-)

Well I must have been wrong about it being of British origin then. :shock:

 

[Michael84]

@Michael84, In India, we call the Polo-shirts as 'T-shirts'. The reason I wrote 'rightly or wrongly' is that I don't know if it can be called a 'T-shirt' or not, because in some kind of English (such as BrE or AmE) it might be OK, but not in the other. Also, after looking up the Oxford Dict 'T-shirt' it seems that it is a wide term.

noun

a short-sleeved casual top , generally made of cotton, having the shape of a T when spread out flat.
​

There is no description of buttons and so on.

The round-neck T-shirt (or as Ouisch writes it is called 'crew neck') was not used (or not popular) in India many years ago, but the polo shirt version (called 'T-shirt' here) has been in use for a long time. But these days, it is common for kids and young people to wear such crew neck.

Interesting info.
Some years ago I came across long-sleeve T-shirts. Until that day I had been thinking they only came with short sleeves
However, the typical T-shirt is a short-sleeve T-shaped shirt without buttons and a round or V-neck.

 

[Ouisch]

The traditional crew neck T-shirt was originally developed in 1932 as a garment for American football players to wear under their uniforms to prevent their shoulder pads from chafing their skin. The term "crew neck" came about because the neck line was similar to that of the sweater worn by competitive oarsmen. The U.S. Navy had begun issuing an earlier version of the T-shirt to sailors in 1913 to wear under their white uniforms (prevented dark chest hair from showing through). When sailors stationed in warm climates stripped off their uniform shirts and worked in their T-shirts, civilians saw them and wanted such shirts, too. Sears Roebuck started selling the garment to retail customers in 1938 (at a price of 24 cents each). :-D