In the British chart, knickers in a knot is a pure flat line, suggesting it has never been used. That represents use of knickers in a knot–it first shows up in 1968 and has slowly risen ever since. But you’ll notice that the American chart has a blue line. The red line in both charts represents relative use of knickers in a twist.
use of “knickers in a twist,” 1964-2008 British use of “knickers in a twist.” 1964-2008 In the U.S., by contrast, the phrase’s popularity grew quite gradually through the early ’90s, when it took off it’s now used more here than here. in 1967, according to Google’s Ngram viewer, quickly gained popularity through the mid-1980s, and has leveled off since then.
In extended use, the shorts worn by boxers, footballers, etc.” The twisty figure of speech first appeared in the U.K. loose-fitting, pair of pants worn by women and children as an undergarment. Knickers in a twist is indeed a Britishism, derived from the British sense of knickers as (in the Oxford English Dictionary’s definition) “A short-legged (orig. My answer … wait for it … an Americanism! Hal asks: “A Britishism (or an Americanism)?” But is the new plan really as bad as some people fear it is for consumers?”
Faithful reader Hall Hall sends a link to a article that begins “Verizon Wireless’s new family share plan has gotten lots of knickers in knots.
