Whilst investigating the origins of the song "Pancho and Lefty" I found
the following site which refers to Lefty wearing a "wife beater shirt".

http://web.mac.com/stephenacook/iWeb...F76B0B675.html

I had not heard this expression before, nor had anyone I asked. I was
curious that there should be such a special-purpose garment optimized
for domestic spousal abuse (not that I ever expected to have occasion
to need one, of course).

Much to my surprise I found an explanation on Wikipedia and it turned
out to be what I would call an undershirt:

"The nickname wifebeater originates from its association with
aggressive, underclass males, usually living in poor conditions, such as
a dilapidated trailer, especially as frequently depicted in television
shows and movies."

Picture at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Ashirtexample.jpg

Some expressions are simply descriptive and emotionally neutral,
such as "side stand", "engine guard" and "drive sprocket".

But this is one of those turns of speech which manages to condense so
much attitude (and sometimes cynicism or contempt) into a mere two-word
phrase. Other examples are "ape hangers", "suicide shift", "sissy bar",
"riding bitch", "chicken strips", "basket case", "Crotch Rocket",
"Rat Bike", "Rice Burner", "Sushi Wagon", etc.

Sean_Q_

On May 26, 9:02*pm, Sean_Q_ <nos...@no.sapm> wrote:
> Whilst investigating the origins of the song "Pancho and Lefty" I found
> the following site which refers to Lefty wearing a "wife beater shirt".
>
> http://web.mac.com/stephenacook/iWeb...D4-2F46-4DFC-8...
>
> I had not heard this expression before, nor had anyone I asked. I was
> curious that there should be such a special-purpose garment optimized
> for domestic spousal abuse (not that I ever expected to have occasion
> to need one, of course).
>
> Much to my surprise I found an explanation on Wikipedia and it turned
> out to be what I would call an undershirt:
>
> "The nickname wifebeater originates from its association with
> aggressive, underclass males, usually living in poor conditions, such as
> a dilapidated trailer, especially as frequently depicted in television
> shows and movies."
>
> Picture at:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Ashirtexample.jpg
>
> Some expressions are simply descriptive and emotionally neutral,
> such as "side stand", "engine guard" and "drive sprocket".
>
> But this is one of those turns of speech which manages to condense so
> much attitude (and sometimes cynicism or contempt) into a mere two-word
> phrase. Other examples are "ape hangers", "suicide shift", "sissy bar",
> "riding bitch", "chicken strips", "basket case", "Crotch Rocket",
> "Rat Bike", "Rice Burner", "Sushi Wagon", etc.
>
> Sean_Q_

Yeah, I was taken aback last year when my son asked my daughter if she
had seen his wifebeaters. Evne when girls wear 'em, they call 'em
wifebeaters.

Greg

Sean_Q_ wrote:
> Whilst investigating the origins of the song "Pancho and Lefty" I found
> the following site which refers to Lefty wearing a "wife beater shirt".
>
> http://web.mac.com/stephenacook/iWeb...F76B0B675.html
>
>
> I had not heard this expression before, nor had anyone I asked. I was
> curious that there should be such a special-purpose garment optimized
> for domestic spousal abuse (not that I ever expected to have occasion
> to need one, of course).
>
> Much to my surprise I found an explanation on Wikipedia and it turned
> out to be what I would call an undershirt:
>
> "The nickname wifebeater originates from its association with
> aggressive, underclass males, usually living in poor conditions, such as
> a dilapidated trailer, especially as frequently depicted in television
> shows and movies."
>
> Picture at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Ashirtexample.jpg
>
> Some expressions are simply descriptive and emotionally neutral,
> such as "side stand", "engine guard" and "drive sprocket".
>
> But this is one of those turns of speech which manages to condense so
> much attitude (and sometimes cynicism or contempt) into a mere two-word
> phrase. Other examples are "ape hangers", "suicide shift", "sissy bar",
> "riding bitch", "chicken strips", "basket case", "Crotch Rocket",
> "Rat Bike", "Rice Burner", "Sushi Wagon", etc.
>
> Sean_Q_

Another one is bitch bar.


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On May 27, 9:32*am, Dean Hoffman <""dh0496\"@ine$br#as&ka.com"> wrote:
> Sean_Q_ wrote:
> > Whilst investigating the origins of the song "Pancho and Lefty" I found
> > the following site which refers to Lefty wearing a "wife beater shirt".
>
> >http://web.mac.com/stephenacook/iWeb...D4-2F46-4DFC-8...
>
> > I had not heard this expression before, nor had anyone I asked. I was
> > curious that there should be such a special-purpose garment optimized
> > for domestic spousal abuse (not that I ever expected to have occasion
> > to need one, of course).
>
> > Much to my surprise I found an explanation on Wikipedia and it turned
> > out to be what I would call an undershirt:
>
> > "The nickname wifebeater originates from its association with
> > aggressive, underclass males, usually living in poor conditions, such as
> > a dilapidated trailer, especially as frequently depicted in television
> > shows and movies."
>
> > Picture at:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Ashirtexample.jpg
>
> > Some expressions are simply descriptive and emotionally neutral,
> > such as "side stand", "engine guard" and "drive sprocket".
>
> > But this is one of those turns of speech which manages to condense so
> > much attitude (and sometimes cynicism or contempt) into a mere two-word
> > phrase. Other examples are "ape hangers", "suicide shift", "sissy bar",
> > "riding bitch", "chicken strips", "basket case", "Crotch Rocket",
> > "Rat Bike", "Rice Burner", "Sushi Wagon", etc.
>
> > Sean_Q_
>
> * * Another one is bitch bar.

whoa! Haven't heard that one in a mort of years... damn I'm getting
old, egg salad old.
--
Keith

"S'mee" <stevenkeith2@hotmail.com> wrote

> whoa! Haven't heard that one in a mort of years...
> damn I'm gettin old, egg salad old.

So you're getting green and fuzzy, and nobody will eat you any more?

On May 27, 12:25*pm, "P. Roehling" <nowayj...@uh-uh.edu> wrote:
> "S'mee" <stevenkei...@hotmail.com> wrote
>
> > whoa! Haven't heard that one in a mort of years...
> > damn I'm gettin old, egg salad old.
>
> So you're getting green and fuzzy, and nobody will eat you any more?

ayup...stapplococci old. I's one sick pup, swmbo'd is a lab tech and
said after one whiff "That's a staph for sure". So I stayed home flat
on the couch the last couple of days. FYI she's one of those techs
good enough the MD's ask "so what are these lab results telling me and
what test do I do next?" 8^)
--
Keith