tighty whitey
3
8.9
- noun
- /ˈtaɪti ˈwaɪti/
- Slang
- Many people agree that wearing tighty whiteys can feel more comfortable than loose underwear.
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Watch on YouTubeBryan Cranston in his tighty whities was, you know, yelling while his meth lab blows up.
- Bryan Cranston in his tighty whities was, you know, yelling while his meth lab blows up.
- I'm going to go to the thrift store and buy some used skivvies, Whitey tighties, tighty whiteys.
Examples
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-They're tighty-whities.
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Tighty-whities?
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My ex-husband wore the same brand of tighty-whities.
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- I bet he's a tighty whitey guy.
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Tighty-whities?
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Alrighty tighty whitey
Blog text (16) -
He's wearing a $6,000 suit, $50,000 watch, and, according to my infrared scope, Hanes size 36 tighty whiteys.
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I saw him at the beach in his tighty whiteys, and it was quite a sight.
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He was embarrassed when his friends teased him about his old tighty whiteys.
Synonyms
1
7.7
Light women's underwear like panties or bras
A type of short, tight underwear that covers the hips and buttocks but not the thighs
Surface Forms
Morphology
tighty + whitey
The phrase directly names the garment by combining 'tighty' (tight) with 'whitey' (white + -y), so a learner who knows 'tight' and 'white' can infer 'tight white underwear/briefs'. Although colloquial/slang and the second element is not listed in the dictionary, the composition is literal and predictable from the constituents.
Etymology
Tighty whitey comes from a simple picture: men's tight, white underwear that fit close to the body, and the playful '-y' ending turned the description into a nickname. So it now means 'briefs' that are tight and white and is often used in a joking or 'old-fashioned' way.