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Discussion Groups / English Usage / August 2007thongs
What are now called flip-flops used to be called thongs, maybe because of the post between the big toe and the next toe, or maybe because of the two straps that end at the post. Does the name flip-flops only apply to cheap floppy ones, like the cheapest made of foam rubber, or does it apply to fairly expensive ones to, such as those made with layers of leather and toold leather straps. When did their name start to become flip-flops, and was this started by the invention of thong underwear. Did people used to use flip-flops for underwear? If you are inclined to email me for some reason, remove NOPSAM :-) On 30 Aug 2007, mm wrote > What are now called flip-flops used to be called thongs, When I was growing up (1960s), we called them "jandals". That was undoubtedly a trade-name, but we used it (like kleenex, etc.) as a generic term. I was aware that they were also "thongs", but only encountered "flip- flops" much, much later -- 1980s, probably.  SignatureCheers, Harvey CanEng and BrEng, indiscriminately mixed > On 30 Aug 2007, mm wrote > [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > I was aware that they were also "thongs", but only encountered "flip- > flops" much, much later -- 1980s, probably. When I wore such things (in the 1960s) they were already called flip-flops. I didn't encounter "thongs" as a word in everyday use until a lot later. Insofar as there is a differencein my mind, I think of flip-flops as things you might buy at a beach shop on the Mediterranean, whereas thongs would be about ten times more expensive and you'd buy them at a shop with fashion pretentions. Signatureathel >What are now called flip-flops used to be called thongs, maybe because >of the post between the big toe and the next toe, or maybe because of [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] >ones to, such as those made with layers of leather and toold leather >straps. I can't speak for everyone, but the expensive leather ones would be "sandals" in my terminology. Even if the design is the same as the foam flip-flops, the material elevates them to sandals. >When did their name start to become flip-flops, and was this started >by the invention of thong underwear. I was familiar with the flip-flop footwear decades before women started wearing thong underwear. In those days, the only women wearing a garment similar to thong underwear were strippers, and they called it a "G-string". (Primitive societies excluded from this comment) SignatureTony Cooper Orlando, FL > What are now called flip-flops used to be called thongs, <...> They're also called zories. >> What are now called flip-flops used to be called thongs, <...> > >They're also called zories. My friend remembers these -- I think it was a brand name -- from the 70s. She said they were cheap, sold in supermarkets and maybe drugstores, and came in bright red, green, and maybe blue. If you are inclined to email me for some reason, remove NOPSAM :-) > What are now called flip-flops used to be called thongs, maybe because > of the post between the big toe and the next toe, or maybe because of > the two straps that end at the post. I thought a thong was thomething you thing. Thilly me.... > Does the name flip-flops only apply to cheap floppy ones, like the > cheapest made of foam rubber, or does it apply to fairly expensive [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > When did their name start to become flip-flops, and was this started > by the invention of thong underwear. To the best of my knowledge, in the most basic sense a "thong" is nothing more than a thin strip of material (usually leather) used to lash two items together. So originally, the term "thong" applied to footwear referred to the thin strip of material that keep the soles lashed to the feet -- that is, they were shoes fastened to your feet by thongs. Applied to underwear, it refers to the thin strip of material that keeps the garment, as it were, lashed to the pelvis. More generically, the term "thong" applies to any piece of material used to lash two items together (though in this generic sense it might apply more specifically to leather -- I'm not sure about that). The name "flip-flop" for the footwear is almost certainly an onomatopoeic name, after the sound they make when you walk in them. I have no idea when it came into popular use, but AFAICT it was in use long before thong underwear was popular. Whether "flip-flops" applies to expensive thongs is largely a matter of your audience and whether it makes pretensions about its footwear -- there's no clear-cut line between what is a thong and what is a flip-flop, and many people use them completely interchangeably. > Did people used to use flip-flops for underwear? I once saw a baby with a cloth diaper lashed to it body by broken rubber bands tied together -- does that count? > > What are now called flip-flops used to be called thongs, maybe because > > of the post between the big toe and the next toe, or maybe because of [quoted text clipped - 34 lines] > I once saw a baby with a cloth diaper lashed to it body by broken rubber > bands tied together -- does that count? When those pieces of footwear first appeared, somewhere near 1960, they were of rubber (not foam) and were worn at the beach or around the swimming pool. Everyone I knew called them thongs. The current word, flip-flop, seems to be used for these and for sandals of leather (or faux leather -- plastic) intended to be worn with clothing other than bathing suits. Most of the sandals in the shoestores are of this design, with a number of them also having insanely high heels. I think the change came when that ridiculously tiny (and I'm sure, uncomfortable) scrap of underwear took the word. Cece [...] > When those pieces of footwear first appeared, somewhere near 1960, > they were of rubber (not foam) and were worn at the beach or around > the swimming pool. Everyone I knew called them thongs. Nearly everyone I knew called them thongs, but one family I knew of called them go-aheads. >[...] > [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] >Nearly everyone I knew called them thongs, but one family I >knew of called them go-aheads. OK. MY xyl, or xgf, sent me some ads from an online shoe store and there are things called thong sandals still for sale and even some things called thongs. One of them is called a "high" sandal, and it looks exactly like the cheap rubber thongs we talked about, all bright red, except the sole is a lot thicker and there is a quarer or half inch higher heel. And aonther thong sandal, very simple, 10 dollars were 39. another is called a John Lang 'Dandy' Thong and it is very dressy, very glossy with a half inch spike heel, like nigh club shoe except the heel is only a half inch high and a half inch in diameter, top to bottom. And another in brown with leopard skin thongs, wider at the back. Bother were 225 and now on sale for $39 dollars, so I guess it didn't sell but otoh, all of there shoes are on sale, maybe because they're bluffing and they were never expensive, and maybe because when the supply tapers off, and stores don't have all sizes, they send them back and the wholesalers puts them all on a website like this. So four styles of shoes altogether If you are inclined to email me for some reason, remove NOPSAM :-) > MY xyl, or xgf, sent me ... Your what? Ex young lady? Ex grandfather? Bill, the confused ---------------------------------------------------------------- Reverse parts of the user name and ISP name for my e-address >> MY xyl, or xgf, sent me ... > >Your what? Ex young lady? Ex grandfather? Yes, ex young lady. But for non-hams, ex girlfriend. >Bill, the confused > >---------------------------------------------------------------- >Reverse parts of the user name and ISP name for my e-address If you are inclined to email me for some reason, remove NOPSAM :-) > Nearly everyone I knew called them thongs, but one family I knew of called > them go-aheads. I'll go with that. In Southern California beach communities in the late 1950's we called them either goatheads (I guess for the symbolism of the straps) and/or go-aheads. Often shortened to goheads. I always wondered which was correct. SignaturePaddy's Pig > When did their name start to become flip-flops, and was this started > by the invention of thong underwear. This was the subject of one of the BBC's "Balderdash and Piffle" excursions. Prior to this, OED had 1970 as their earliest cite but they now have: "1958 P. D. JAMES MS Descr. in H. M. Customs & Excise Declar. Personal Baggage (official form) (O.E.D. Archive), Maps, 1 pair of 'flip-flops', 1 shirt (white), 1 shirt (coloured) [etc.]. 1960 D. STRONG MS Diary 2 July (O.E.D. Archive), Bought flip flops. Walked to pool." They also established there was no truth in the story that they were named after their French inventor Philippe Feloppe. Prior to all this, 'flip-flop' was used for an electrical switch (from 1935), a somersault (from 1902) and the flap of the ear (from 1661). OED dates 'thong' (= G-string) to 1975 SignatureJohn Dean Oxford > What are now called flip-flops used to be called thongs, maybe because > of the post between the big toe and the next toe, or maybe because of [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > If you are inclined to email me > for some reason, remove NOPSAM :-) I recall both terms being used when i was a kid {1960s}. I wouldn't wear them no matter what name was used. |
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