A comfy alternative to pants for men

[wbgookin]

I'm willing to allow for cultural differences. Just saying, it isn't a word a straight man would typically choose over here, but every rule has its exceptions.

Neither is a skirt.

[Jerevo]

Oh goodness, that asinine "for men" thing is in no way limited to skirts! It all prays on the mysterious fear - particularly prevalent at C2 and below - of being thouht gay. Take moisturiser - a very sensible concept if you prefer not to flake like a parched sub-saharan field. Ordinary stuff sold to women is entirely functional. Slap "for men" and macho branding on it and the price doubles. Huh? Irons is another hilarious one - those marketed at men are ludicrouly over-gadgetified.

So, I will very happily continue to purchase from the other side of the aisle (although for clothes, chains that sell to both do make trying stuff on easier.

J

[skirtyscot]

There are irons marketed to men? I had no idea! What nonsense do they cone up with for that?

Unless you mean golf clubs, of course. Or branding irons. Or ...

[wbgookin]

I've never seen an iron marked to men, although they did (maybe still do) have yogurt marketed for men. Because goodness knows eating yogurt is feminine.

[Jerevo]

@Skirtyscot: Think black, chrome, steam and *power*! ("Steam-generator" irons at anything up to £300 a pop...)
(No, I don't get it either...)

[skirtyscot]

We had one of them. My darling wife fell for the advertising, or she believed the dumb crap in some women's magazine. Anyhow, when our previous iron packed in after many years of service, she went and bought a steam generator iron, though she could never really explain to me just what made it different from a steam iron. She kept going on about how it was so cheap at £80 or some extortionate sum like that - "the cheapest steam generator iron there is, most of them cost twice that, etc etc". Anyhow, it lasted not very long at all, nowhere near as long as its cheaper antecedent, and she agreed that an ordinary steam iron was just as good. £30 from the supermarket, and we're done.

Rant over, sorry. It wouldn't be as bad if she ironed all my shirts, but she wriggled out of that little chore a good few years ago!

[Uncle Al]

Could be that there is a bit of a north-south, city-rural thing to it
<snip>
I'm willing to allow for cultural differences. Just saying,
it isn't a word a straight man would typically choose
over here, but every rule has its exceptions.

I tend to disagree with you dillon.



'Gay' used to mean 'happy', 'fun' and Comfy
is used quite extensively in my area by 'straight' people
most of the time. You must live in a sheltered,
back-woods area and not get out much. I've lived
in 25 different locations and NONE of them used
these terms in a derogatory meaning, except for queer,
which meant strange or different from 'normal'.
Strange and queer are/were interchangeable.
What a queer thought? = What a strange thought?


Ok - I'll get down now

Uncle Al

[moonshadow]

I once saw a dawn dish detergent commercial that I found could have been viewed as both offensive to men and women. It featured a father and his daughter completing the dishes whereas they forgot one glass after doing the pots and pans (the greasy stuff). The girls says "oh now, we forgot a glass and now the water is all greasy! What will we do?" The father replies "lets do what Mommy would do!" and proceeds to wash the glass anyway.

It implied that number one, a woman's place was in the kitchen, where she would naturally be an expert at dishwashing. Number two, men can not possibly know how to wash dishes unless being trained in the art by a woman.

And number three: The commercial is WRONG anyway, because as an expert MALE SELF TAUGHT dishwasher for at least 30 years, I can tell you than NO YOU CAN'T wash a glass after the greasy stuff unless you want a greasy glass! And yes I use Dawn. You CAN however run some fresh hot water in the glass and put a little dab of fresh detergent in the wash rag and clean it that way. Give it a good hot rinse, and it will be squeaky clean!

And yes, I am better at washing dishes than both the girls in my house. I do my own laundry though. I also bake pretty good cakes! Have yet to do so in a skirt, but I'm sure it'd make for a LOVELY Normal Rockwell picture!

[Kirbstone]

We built our current country residence now 11 years ago and into it we put our old oak & eucalyptus kitchen units which I had built for our former Tudor house in England in 1979, rescued when the purchaser of that house replaced them with a factory-built kitchen in 1988.

On MOH's insistence we did not install an electric dishwasher, opting for the two-legged variety instead. This is our situation today and I claim therefore to be an expert in hand washing-up. 'Our' kitchen boasts its original 7ft stainless double sink & double drainer, supplied with AGA-heated constant hot water, ideal for DIY wash-ups.

As we frequently entertain, party glasses tend to number dozens. These never see greasy water, that's for sure.......Thread drift, it seems.

Tom

[skirted_in_SF]

I also bake pretty good cakes! Have yet to do so in a skirt, but I'm sure it'd make for a LOVELY Normal Rockwell picture!

Hmm, not sure if I've ever baked a cake in a skirt; it's been awhile since I've made a cake. I live alone so I'd have to eat it all myself and I don't need the calories. Now; breakfast coffee cakes, quick breads and cookies I've made skirted. The latest was a batch of current scones for breakfast today.

[dillon]

Language evolves for better or worse, Al, and I think the popular connotation of those terms really changed in the 1970s. It seems to be also a generational thing. Dictionaries still define them as you have, but that does not account for the popular social context, of which we are all keenly aware. Of course you're free to use whatever words tickle your fancy in whatever context you please. Perhaps I am too sensitive to perceptions, but I would not be comfortable uttering the word comfy outside of singing the aforementioned carol. In fact there are an awful lot of terms which, when sometimes shortened to a -y or -ie ending, seem equally feminized. It all depends on the image you care to project, I suppose, but it strikes me that feminized language from a skirted man seems like adding an exclamation mark to an already skewed perception by the unenlightened observer. But, again, speak as you wish; I've said all I plan to about the matter. Apparently I am just a backwoods hick, albeit one with advanced degrees, and one who has lived in other parts of the country. And one who has rarely, if ever, heard comfy used by men of my generation.

[Kirbstone]

The cake baker(s) in our house is/are MOH and a well-tutored granddaughter. Between them they'd easily feed an army with cakes & buns &c.

For my palate, Brown Irish soda-bread is the ticket and local supermarkets sell 'Odlums brown soda-bread mix', which requires no more skill than mixing in a bowl with tap water to an easily managed liquidy dough, pouring into a deep tapered cake tin, sticking in the AGA for 50 minutes and BINGO!, I've got my basic nourishment for a whole week!
The stuff's unbeatable with smoked salmon on it and tastes the same whether I was skirted or not while baking it!

Tom

P.S. The word 'comfy' does not appear in my vocabulary, nor will it ever.

[moonshadow]

I don't recall ever using the word "comfy". And I probably wouldn't unless context called for it. But not because it might be taken as "gay sounding". I pride myself on a vocabulary that uses somewhat big and lesser known words. My nature is to not shorten words, any words, and that's why I wouldn't use the word "comfy". But it's for the same reason I don't really use shortened versions of other words.

What's probably really funny to hear is my somewhat hillbilly accent attempt to pronounce long words! I think it's due to my crooked teeth, awkward mouth, and the fact that I have spent my entire life in these hills. I can't spell to save my life either. Makes for some really interesting conversation.

BTW: I mentioned the dawn dish soap thing not to change subject, but because I thought it loosely would fit in this thread as... well you know that thing about men and women and what we do and so on... well... you know what, it's 1AM, I'm talking out my ______....! LOL

I guess it's up to us individually to choose our vocabulary. Comfy isn't in my regular vocabulary, but words like precious, cute (although I often substitute "nice"), and adorable are. I can't think of any synonym I use in place of "comfortable". Although I don't think I've ever actually SAID the word due my slack jawed accent it always comes out "comfurble".

[Uncle Al]

Dillon,

Yes, I did get my out as your comments
did rub me the wrong way. You gave the impression,
by your writing, that all America reacts the same way
to these 'words'. Granted we, the reader, can't see
your facial expressions as you write, but I've found I
must use greater care in choosing words when writing.

I can use a very high vocabulary but in the job
I had for 26 1/2 years, dealing with the public, I brought
my speech pattern down to the 'typical' 7-8th grade
level. I speak 2 languages, college degree plus play piano,
organ and sax. The music part shows in several of my posts.
A couple I really like are "Music is how feelings sound",
and
Music
Unlocks
Self-expression
Intelligence
Creativity

One thing I'ld like to know is, how does adding a -y- or -ie- to
a word automatically make that word feminine
I'll be 65 years young in January and I've never heard of
this concept in any of my education classes, elementary
through university.

OK - I've got to go to bed. Eye drop time.
My eyes should be settled down in 2-3 weeks.
I feel naked without glasses, having worn them
almost 60 years. I never knew how bright and
colorful my surroundings really were

Uncle Al

[Couya]

Men wear pants and shorts. Women wear panties and shorties.
Men have aunts. Do women have aunties?
Some people use hankies, but no-one uses hanks, as far as I know.
My father used to play rugger; other men like soccer. Now they have women's teams playing rugbie and footie.
There was another team game school girls played (with -ie), but the name escapes me. I left school half a century ago!
There are a few skirt men around, but I know if only one Skirtie Scot.

Some words I dislike, because over-used, are awesome, cute/cutie, sexy; all of which I think of as Northamerican, though the Brits have probably adopted them too by now, I wouldn't know.

Martin