The things that keep me up at night
Taylor Tabb
Issue date: 2/5/10 Section: Entertainment
Do you ask for a pair of pants, or a pant?
It is understood that when a person goes into a store and asks for a pair of pants they are less likely to receive baffled responses than when asking for a "pant."
Why is it this way, though?
A pair of shoes is composed of two shoes, but pants are used with a plural regarding something that is a single object.
So, like any other red-blooded Internet user, I Googled it. It astonished me how many people had been asking this same question.
According to www.answers.com, the reason for the phrase "pair of pants" is used because: "each pant leg used to be one separate item of clothing, and was belted in the middle."
I guess that answers the question to one of the many things that keep me up at night.
It is understood that when a person goes into a store and asks for a pair of pants they are less likely to receive baffled responses than when asking for a "pant."
Why is it this way, though?
A pair of shoes is composed of two shoes, but pants are used with a plural regarding something that is a single object.
So, like any other red-blooded Internet user, I Googled it. It astonished me how many people had been asking this same question.
According to www.answers.com, the reason for the phrase "pair of pants" is used because: "each pant leg used to be one separate item of clothing, and was belted in the middle."
I guess that answers the question to one of the many things that keep me up at night.
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