long johns
6
2.4
- noun
- /lɔŋ dʒɑnz/
:
pantalones largos térmicos
- On a freezing morning, he wore his long johns under his jeans to stay warm.
- wear long johns
- a pair of long johns
- long johns underneath
But you know, they're not going to be buying a lot of those huge bulky sweaters or long Johns.
- But you know, they're not going to be buying a lot of those huge bulky sweaters or long Johns.
Examples
-
So take sweaters, long johns, and some stuff you can peel off.
Fiction book (1993) -
There were the long johns she had washed and folded with her own hands.
Fiction book (1992) -
- It's all right, I got like long johns under.
-
...running around in his long johns in charge here.
-
"Everybody in the full church turned to look at us in our long johns.
Fiction book (1994) -
I gotta go up in the attic, get my long-johns.
-
It's been mostly pants and long johns these days, not much call for fancy dresses in camp.
Fiction book (1998) -
We stood there, barefoot in the snow, in our long johns, happy with our toys.
Fiction book (1994) -
His uniform and long johns were soaked through, and he was shivering.
Fiction book (1995) -
"What are you doing there, barefoot in the night and in your long johns?" complained my mother, who had forgotten that she had put us there.
Fiction book (1994)
Synonyms
5
2.2
Warm clothing that covers the arms and legs and is worn under other clothes
1
9.9
A pair of underpants with short legs worn under clothes
Antonyms
How Warm
Surface Forms
Morphology
long + johns
The meaning 'warm underwear with long legs' cannot be inferred from combining 'long' with 'johns' because 'johns' does not have the lexical meaning 'underwear' (it is a name/slang in English) and the compound is lexicalized. A B1 learner who knows 'long' and the name 'John' would not predict a garment meaning, so the expression is effectively idiomatic and opaque.
Etymology
Long johns may come from a simple picture: long, full-length underpants worn by a man called John, a common male name. One popular story says people began calling men's long underwear 'a long John', and the name stayed, so today long johns means 'warm underwear' with long legs.