Re: Spelling pronunciations (was: rhotic miscellany)

Mark J. Reed wrote:
> Ray Brown wrote:
>> So British _vest_ is the American _undershirt_?
>
> Maybe.  It depends on what you mean by "vest".  An
> "undershirt" is a shirt designed to be worn under
> another shirt, not just for the warmth of double
> layers but, e.g., to absorb sweat and keep it from
> staining the outer shirt.  They are sometimes called
> "T-shirts" because of their shape, but that's a more
> general term (see below).  They are usually made of
> cotton, white, and short-sleeved; they may instead
> have no sleeves, in which case they're not T-shirts
> but "tank tops", sometimes referred to as "wife
> beaters" because they seem to be the favored form
> of undershirt used by the people who show up on
> "Cops" - at least, those few who show up wearing
> anything at all.  :)
Hmmm. I've never thought of T-shirts as being called
undershirts, although I know lots of men wear them
under regular shirts. To me, "undershirt" always means
the sleeveless variety, "tank tops" are this style
when worn by women, and "muscle shirts" when worn by
men.


>> Sort of logical, I guess - except that over here
>> there are some guys who, when the weathers warmer,
>> don't wear the vest/undershirt under anything  :)
>
> Then they're just T-shirts.  That's a more general
> term applied to all shirts shaped that way, whether
> worn as undershirts or not.  Although if there is
> an actual collar and a few buttons at the neck, then
> it's not a T-shirt but a "golf shirt" or "polo shirt".
Not necessarily. It's considered lower-class and
vulgar, but some men do wear the sleeveless
undershirts by themselves during the summer.


>> Who was it said the UK and the USA are two nations
>> divided by the same language?
>
> Shaw?
Wasn't it Winston Churchill?

--Ph. D.