Do you ever think about how the phrase "I wear the pants in this family!" Has very different meanings of said in the UK vs the US?

Upon looking it up, the US actually uses it closer to is original definition which was shorthand for pantaloons. The word underpants came into play using that shorthand as what gets worn under the pantaloons. And then the UK decided to shorthand their word derived from shorthand into pants completely overwriting the original definition for the word used in the compound word.

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MethDozer · M

So what does the phrase mean in the UK? You haven't explained the supposed different meanings of the phrase

ViciDraco · 41-45, M

@MethDozer in the UK its underwear, often used as a term for underwear worn by women from what I see.

MethDozer · M

@ViciDraco right, but how does that give a different meaning to the phrase?

(From what I been lead to believe pants is just underwear. Knickers is women's panties.)