Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
noun (used with a plural verb)
- Also knick·er·bock·ers [nik-er-bok-erz] /ˈnɪk ərˌbɒk ərz/. loose-fitting short trousers gathered in at the knees.
- Chiefly British.
- a bloomerslike undergarment worn by women.
- panties.
- British Informal. a woman’s or girl’s short-legged underpants.
- to get one’s knickers in a twist, British Slang. to get flustered or agitated: Don’t get your knickers in a twist every time the telephone rings.
pl n
- an undergarment for women covering the lower trunk and sometimes the thighs and having separate legs or leg-holes
- a US variant of knickerbockers
- get one’s knickers in a twist slang to become agitated, flustered, or upset
“short, loose-fitting undergarment,” now usually for women but not originally so, 1866, shortening of knickerbockers (1859), said to be so called for their resemblance to the trousers of old-time Dutchmen in Cruikshank’s illustrations for Washington Irving’s “History of New York” (see knickerbocker).