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go commando v. To wear trousers without putting on underwear.

Example Citation:
"Comedian Dave Gorman is also firmly with the traditionalists. 'I'm never ever naked beneath my trousers. If God had wanted men to 'go commando' he wouldn't have invented polycotton with two per cent lycra! When my zip broke once I was glad to have boxers on.'"
—Alison George, "Is your man going commando?," Mail on Sunday, March 18. 2001

Earliest Citation:
Furthermore, colored briefs are 'sleazy' and going without underwear ('going commando,' as they say on campus) is simply gross."
—Jim Spencer, "Marking the Golden Anniversary of a Brief Success," Chicago Tribune, January 22, 1985

Notes:
I read several reports that claimed today's phrase came from Britain's Royal Marine Commandos who, one assumes, often go boxerless beneath their fatigues. I can't confirm that, but I do know that going commando hit the mainstream when it was used in a 1996 episode of the sitcom Friends. I managed to find a couple of dozen citations since 1996, but I found only one before that

Related Words:
butt bra
condo commando
going plural
put some pants on it

Subject Category:
Culture - Clothing

Posted on April 9, 2001
Updated on April 9, 2001


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