They sound the same, which way is it spelled?

Edit, it's the underwear that is white in this question.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] 18 points 1 year ago (2 children)

"White men's briefs." I assume there's a term for when meaning can be misconstrued for humorous reasons like this. I think you're responding to a joke.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
  • [–] 6 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    I actually read it that way and thought it was an odd choice to highlight that.

    It didn't occur to me that that might not be what they meant until I read your comment.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 1 child comment
  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago*

    Technically that is what they wrote since they forgot the comma. "white, men's briefs" is a list of adjectives describing briefs, the noun. "White men's briefs" makes "white" the adjective describing the men who own the briefs

    Men's vs. mens was also an issue that added ambiguity

  • source
  • parent