Clothing Metaphors in English and in Other Languages

There are many linguistic or conceptual clothing metaphors in English. The outskirts and skirting an issue are marginal. “Girdle” relates to the “girth” of a horse. You might have something up your sleeve, related to magic.

In American English we refer to the “Hood” of a car, but in British English it is the “Bonnet.”

During the French revolution, “le jacquerie” referred to any person not important enough to be given a name, so in Charles Dickens’s Tale of Two Cities three of the characters are named Jacques Un, Jacques Deux, and Jacques Trois. “Jack” is a generic term for person, so we have the game of jacks, and “Jackets” for people, for books, and for records. There is also the “Jack of all trades.”

“Pants” comes from the “pantaloons” of Commedia dell’arte (16th C);

Sabotage comes from the wooden shoes that some French people wore—“sabots,” which they would throw into the machinery that was taking their jobs.

In American English there is the “Trunk” of a car, but in British English, this is the “boot.”

If a woman wears the pants in the family, she is in charge.

Check out the attached PowerPoint about Clothing Metaphors, and then discuss clothing metaphors in English and other languages