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| no droopy drawers here! |
I heard the term "droopy drawers news" over the weekend, and it sparked a fun memory. Way back when, probably in the stone ages, I knew someone who called another person "Annabel Droopy Drawers." (For those not from the south, "Drawers" is the refined expression for the modest underpants of my childhood and earlier.)
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| a droopy drawers face |
I always thought the expression meant that Ann didn't have enough padding to fill out her drawers, but now I have reason to doubt that as the sole interpretation. In the context of "droopy drawers" news, I believe the term is also used to indicate sadness. (And in hindsight, this gal didn't always have a sunny outlook.)
Certainly if I had droopy drawers, I'd be sad. Nothing worse than elastic failure, but I suppose in this day and age of ladies wearing slacks most of the time, having your underpants fall off isn't so much to be feared. However droopy drawers under slacks would certainly be an annoyance and that would make me sad and maybe a bit crazy. (Trust me, I won't even allow a tag under my clothes. This sort of undergarment irritant would make me as neurotic as TV detective Monk.)
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this is a good way to get
droopy drawers |
The Urban Dictionary cites these definitions of droopy drawers. 1) a woman with excessively limp buttocks; 2) a person who has a load of sand and other oceanic debris in their drawers; and 3) pulling someone else's pants down to cause embarassment. (wow - I thought this last one used to be called pantsing. Shows how out of touch I am!)
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| We've all seen these droopy drawers |
Imagine my surprise to find there are droopy drawers laws in Florida and even my home state of Georgia that relate to anti-sagging. Fortunately for senior citizens, this isn't a law against aging, but a protest over those lowslung pants that mostly teenage boys wear. BTW, how do they keep those pants up? I worry that placing a cell phone in my pants pocket will make them too heavy to stay up, and my pants are firmly in place. I would hate to have really low pants like that and sneeze. Yikes!
According to a Wikipedia entry, sagging pants as a wardrobe choice is believed to have originated from the prison system, where prisoners weren't allowed to have belts for fear they'd hurt themselves or others. Once hip hop artists popularized the fad, it has since become a statement of independence and freedom. Who'd a thunk?
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My suggestion to fight droopy drawers moods?
Get out and get going.
The dog and fella are kinda nice too |
I think the term "droopy drawers" is an older experession, hailing from my parent's generation or earlier. I found a list of nearly 2,000 cliches online assembled by Steve Lautenschlager, and the word "droopy" was not found in the entire list. I guess there isn't a category for a walking cliche.
Hopefully, all of us are gearing up for family and fellowship with the advent of the holidays, so put away your "droopy drawers" faces and start getting into the holiday spirit!
Maggie Toussaint
ps - do you have a cliche you overuse? do you say things like an apple a day keeps the doctor away, the early bird gets the worm, or the pot calling the kettle black? I'd love to hear your take on cliches today.
What a fun post, Maggie! :) I'm with you on hating "elastic failure." :)
ReplyDeleteI love the cliche and heard it a lot when I was little- mostly in reference to my lack of hips and low rifing pants. You made me smile.
ReplyDeleteThanks,
Barbara
Maggie - I agree - what a fun post. I chuckled my way through it. I CANNOT stand "droopy drawers" on a teenage boy who thinks it's all the rage. He looks completely unkempt if you ask me. Just sayin'...
ReplyDeleteCan't think of any overused sayings at this time...but if something comes to me I'll pop back and share. Thanks for the smiles
Steph
Hi Katherine, Barbara, and Steph, So glad you had a moment to click over and enjoy my reminiscing. Isn't an oxymoron that a fashion fad for freedom has an origin in prison? I'm just a bit amazed by that slice of news. Thanks for the visit and the comments!
ReplyDeleteMaggie
I always had droopy drawers as a little girl. One time...when I was with my Daddy shopping. I walked right out of my panties in Sears. Hahah. I was only like 4 at the time. Mom said Dad just kept on walking hahahha.
ReplyDeleteI still laugh like crazy to picture him realizing I'd done that and not knowing what to do.
:)
Thanks for a big smile, Nancy. That's so like a dad.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was little I'd be called a 'droopy drawers' if I was moping or unhappy about something. Another version in my part of Scotland would have been 'Yer face is like fizz!' Why the fizz I don't know??? re; young guys with droopy pants-I always want to hang onto the belt loops and yank them up...
ReplyDeleteIn my area, droopy drawers generally referred to a baby with a very full diaper. I haven't heard it referred to boys who wear their pants below their hips (I've heard that called Jailin' btw) but it fits. It's a very unattractive look and probably annoys parents to no end, which is probably why the boys like it.
ReplyDeleteHi Nancy and Keena, Thanks for swinging by! I enjoyed learning of the Scottish saying "Yer face is like fizz" And Keena - that's exactly what my husband's connotation of droopy drawers was - diapers only. What fun this is!
ReplyDeleteHaving taught high school for many years, I found the droopy drawers style of wearing pants by students (boys) amusing. Many times they woud be carrying books with one hand and holding on to their pants with the other.
ReplyDeleteOh, man, I laughed all through this. I've heard the term, but I guess we didn't use it much. I thought it was more like "poopy Pants" which I've heard about babies.
ReplyDeleteIf we were a droopy drawers at home, Mother would tell us we were going to step on our bottom lip.
Oh, I have all kinds of cliches I say all the time. Crooked, wicked politicians? "Just another day at the office."
Thanks for the laugh...
My grandmother is from South Carolina and we regularly used the term "droopy drawers" growing up. Thanks for the fun post.
ReplyDeleteHi Maggie...loved your post! Brought back some funny memories and kept a smile on my face through the whole read!
ReplyDeleteWish I could think of some cliches to share (because I do love to use them), but for some reason as soon as I am asked for an example, my mind goes blank! lol
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!
Fun post, Maggie. My mom is from the midwest and she called us kids droopy drawers when we were moping. Celia, I cracked up at the lip comment. Grandma used to say 'a bird is going to come along and poop on that lip' when one of us pouted. As for cliche, I've always wondered about letting the cat out of the bag. Who puts a cat in a bag? That's so mean!
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile back at the ranch. I'm trying to keep it alive!
ReplyDeleteGood post, Maggie!
Fun post to start the day with, and thanks! When I was a kid (on the west coast), it just meant your pants were too loose. I do recall a teacher who called a boy droopy drawers and then tugged on the belt loops on his pants. The pants fell and both were embarrassed. That was back in the fifties.
ReplyDeleteOh! What fun. I love all the comments. Mary, I also say meanwhile back at the ranch. Thanks one and all for the smiles!!!
ReplyDeleteI remember the droopy drawers phrase. I think it tended to refer to "plumbers pants" syndrome. At least teens wearing their pants low tend to have themselves covered with boxers instead of showing their plumber's crack. ;-)
ReplyDeleteSaw a couple of guys at the mall today waddling with their drawers drooping (calling them boys would be a bit misleading). It made me wonder how low an IQ is necessary to wear pants six inches or so below the waist? Besides looking stupid, they appear so uncomfortable.
ReplyDeleteHi Loraine and Chester, I can't figure out how those low riding pants stay on when a kid walks. They seem to defy gravity. Maggie
ReplyDelete