going commando
Who taught: Brian, Sue and Drew
Have you seen Commando? You know it, right? Come on, don’t say you do not know that movie! I think I was in either elementary school or in middle school when I first watched it. I liked it.
When I moved into the new house, Brian and Sue gave me a washer and a dryer. I haven’t been able to use because I could not install them by myself. So, two days ago, I asked Dave whether he can come over to see what I should do to install. (Dave is so handy around the house.) After I talked to Dave, I had a short chat with Brian and Sue and mentioned that I talked to Dave to install the washer and the dryer.
As kind of a joke (?), I said, “Finally, I can use the washer. I needed it. I need to wash my underwear. Oops! TMI!”
We all laughed and in response, Brian said something but I did not get it. So, as usual, I said, “Sorry! What did you say?”
He said, “Just going commando.”
Well, I know what commando is but going commando? What is it? From the context, I could feel that it is not like being tough as a man. I thought it would be awkward to ask what that means at that moment because there were Drew’s girlfriend, Carmen and Brian’s daughter, Rachel.
After I got back home, I could not wait to find out what that means. The first thing I did was searching it up. Wow! I was so surprised by its meaning. Can you guess what it is? It has something to do with the lack of clean underwear. If you do not have clean underwear, what is the best option you have? Well, just do not wear it. I mean you do need to wear pants though. Don’t forget that!
To sum it up, going commando means “not wearing any underpants.” Now, I would not recommend to do it, especially in summer.
Wanna know the origin? Here is the origin I found.
The earliest known use of the term in print occurred on January 22, 1985 when Jim Spencer wrote in the Chicago Tribune “Furthermore, colored briefs are ‘sleazy’ and going without underwear (“going commando”, as they say on campus) is simply gross.”
After that, this expression was used in TV shows, Seinfeld and Friends. That is where this expression got popular.
Have I gone commando? Hmm… what do you think? I will say this. Maybe, it is better than wearing dirty underpants.
P.S.: How about women? Can I say Sharon Stone went commando in Basic Instinct?