denijeur (denijeur) wrote in linguaphiles,
2013-02-03 17:05:00

"I put my jeans on backwards"

Hello friends,

When someone says "I put my jeans on backwards" it means that the butt of the jeans is forward, right?

Are there any other idiomatic or region specific ways to express the same meaning?

How would one say if he put his jeans on like this:



I googled for answers and found two funny expressions: arsy-versy and tospy-turvy, but I'm not sure whether these expressions are applicable here.
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  • 30 comments

fencer_x

February 3 2013, 15:09:43 UTC 4 months ago

I can't see your image, but from context, I assume it's what I'd call "upside down", and since that would likely elicit confusion, I'd go on to clarify if it wasn't immediately obvious what I was referring to.

hkitsune

February 3 2013, 15:10:24 UTC 4 months ago

What I see is clearly inside-out.

iddewes

February 3 2013, 15:13:28 UTC 4 months ago

Yep, inside out. I've never heard another term for that. Topsy turvy isn't used for clothes.

sollersuk

4 months ago

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comeonyouspurs

4 months ago

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farraige

February 3 2013, 15:13:23 UTC 4 months ago

this is inside-out.

mamculuna

February 3 2013, 15:55:08 UTC 4 months ago

Agree.

alicit

February 3 2013, 15:17:37 UTC 4 months ago

I would say inside-out (for the picture).

If I put my jeans on with the zipper to the back and the seat to the front, I would say back to front, but if I heard "I put them on backwards" I would probably understand the same, although it would depend on context - If somebody said: " everyday I put my socks on and then my jeans, but today I did it backwards" I would understand that they put the jeans on before the socks, not that they put them on back to front.

keestone

February 3 2013, 15:24:38 UTC 4 months ago Edited:  February 3 2013, 15:26:13 UTC

That's inside-out or wrong side out. (I'd be way more likely to say "inside-out".)

Topsy-turvy would be upside-down (impossible to do with trousers), and while "arsy-versy" isn't in my dialect I'd guess it would be back-to-front or in the reverse order, like "ass-backwards" (which is in my dialect) or the intentionally ass-backwards spoonerism, "bassackwards".

line_of_cars

February 3 2013, 17:36:33 UTC 4 months ago

Agree. Assbackwards or arse-ways is what I'd call it too.

semioticwarrior

February 3 2013, 15:33:29 UTC 4 months ago

I'd say inside out (U.S., west coast). Good grief, is this what fashion has come to? =)

sollersuk

February 3 2013, 15:54:36 UTC 4 months ago

Back to the Future II?

gindaisy

February 3 2013, 16:01:08 UTC 4 months ago

Inside out is the only term I'd use for that.

imps85

February 3 2013, 16:17:55 UTC 4 months ago Edited:  February 3 2013, 16:18:23 UTC

inside out is what i would use.

iiiskaaa

February 3 2013, 16:35:52 UTC 4 months ago

I would call those jeans inside-out.

bmh4d0k3n

February 3 2013, 16:37:36 UTC 4 months ago

Yep, this is putting your jeans on backwards:



As for your picture, I'd definitely call that inside-out.

keestone

February 3 2013, 17:40:44 UTC 4 months ago

Ha! I think the most hilarious thing about this picture is how those kids are trying to look serious.

ekeme_ndiba

February 3 2013, 18:17:38 UTC 4 months ago Edited:  February 3 2013, 18:18:58 UTC

Amazing Zimbabwe fashion.

tristissima

February 3 2013, 18:42:41 UTC 4 months ago

You know, they're getting back together? Releasing a new album?

akibare

4 months ago

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songindarkness

February 3 2013, 21:40:07 UTC 4 months ago

The picture: inside-out. I've never heard "arsy-versy", ever - it sounds like something made-up based on topsy-turvy. Topsy-turvy means that things are upside-down, a mess and untidy. (British-English speaker)

sollersuk

February 3 2013, 23:16:15 UTC 4 months ago

Also a Brit: I do know "arsy-versy" and also "assudbackuds".

sollersuk

4 months ago

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lap_of_the_gods

4 months ago

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viciousdisorder

February 4 2013, 09:18:28 UTC 4 months ago

As for your picture, like others have said... Inside-out, or if I was being silly Outside-in. (Aus Eng)

arrowwhiskers

February 4 2013, 09:26:12 UTC 4 months ago

+1!

dorsetgirl

February 4 2013, 09:24:25 UTC 4 months ago

That's inside out. I think "topsy-turvy" means rather more randomly muddled than simply "upside down" but that could be just me.

summerless_year

February 5 2013, 00:42:25 UTC 4 months ago

Agree on inside-out, backwards Crisscross pic is epic.

Wanted to say that this is a frustration of mine in Spanish, both inside out and backwards for clothes is "al revés" (backwards, or opposite to how they should be). Perhaps other languages also do it, and the person who made the original statement speaks one of those languages, too?

nyxelestia

February 5 2013, 04:54:00 UTC 4 months ago

"I put my jeans on inside-out."

caiasm

February 9 2013, 02:21:58 UTC 4 months ago

1) Yes. (IMO)
2) I would say that he put his jeans on inside out...