wife-beater

[Frank Abate]

Somewhere back in this thread someone mentioned the use of vest for this kind of shirt by an Englishman.  The Brits use "vest" as the equivalent of American "undershirt".  And American "vest" = Brit "waistcoat" (pron "WES(T)-cuht", with @ = schwa).

Another term for the tank top sort of undershirt is "Guinea T", in ref to the idea that they are commonly worn by men of Italian heritage.  Think of Stallone as Rocky Balboa, in the first "Rocky" at least.

And by its shape, the "wife-beater/Guinea T" is technically not a T-shirt (despite the "T").

Sorry, but nothing to offer re the "wife-beater" part of this thread.

Frank Abate


American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> wrote:
>
> In a message dated 5/12/2000 2:02:56 PM, highbob at MINDSPRING.COM writes:
>
> << can't a literary source be the inspiration for a term, without the
> term itself being used in the source? >>
>
> I wouldn't in principle want to rule it out--but I'd want SOMETHING concrete
> to pin it on, e.g., a contemporaneous account in which someone said for the
> first time, "a wife-beater shirt--you know, like Stanley wore in STREETCAR."
>
> My own scepticism about the putative STREETCAR/WIFE-BEATER connection is
> further heightened by my own acquaintance with the term. I have been familiar
> with STREETCAR for over 40 years, but I never heard the term WIFE-BEATER =
> 'white tank-top-type undergarment' until the last few months.
>