# Pullover, Jumper, Cardigan.



## Raelichu

What are the differences among those three garnments? I've tried to look it up in several dictionaries (including wordreference) but I haven't been able to find out what is what makes each concept differ from the rest. I don't need a translation, that's why I'm asking it here.

Thank you in advance.


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## AnnieF

A cardigan has buttons down the front centre, whereas a jumper and a pullover have no front opening.  The distinction I have always understood between a jumper and a pullover is that a jumper has sleeves, whereas a pullover does not.  Hope this helps!


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## Aupick

In British English a pullover, a jumper and a sweater are all pretty much the same, referring to a thick, warm, one-piece garment that is pulled over the head (hence pullover). As far as I know, in American English the word pullover isn't used and the word jumper refers to some kind of dress. A cardigan is like a pullover/jumper/sweater, except with buttons or a zip (zipper in US) down the middle so it doesn't go over the head. But then people's definition of clothing often vary, so maybe someone will contradict me.


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## AnnieF

Venusenvy, there's obviously a difference in US and UK usage here - what you term a pullover is what I would describe as a jumper or sweater, and what you describe as a jumper looks like what I would describe as a pinafore dress.  Our common language strikes again!


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## VenusEnvy

AnnieF said:
			
		

> Venusenvy, there's obviously a difference in US and UK usage here - what you term a pullover is what I would describe as a jumper or sweater, and what you describe as a jumper looks like what I would describe as a pinafore dress.  Our common language strikes again!


  

Well, a pullover, to me, can be a sweater. 
A jumper, to me, can be a dress or slacks. But, what makes a jumper is the buckles, and straps at the top. 

We English-spickers are craaaazy!


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## panjandrum

Amazing!! Please excuse my classification obsession....

*Sweater:*
AE & BE - warm, one-piece extra layer, maybe woolly, pulls over your head, has sleeves. There are very bulky thick woollen ones, and also very thin ones made of cashmere or cotton or cashmere/silk blends (for the wealthy non-rustics).

*Cardigan:*
AE & BE - a bit like a sweater but with buttons or zip up the front.

*Pullover:*
AE - Fairly common, emphasising not-a-cardigan, typically with long sleeves.
BE - same as sweater, short or long sleeves.
AnnieF (only so far) does not have sleeves.

*Jumper:*
AE - pinafore, dress, slacks - must have buckles and straps at the top.
BE - same as sweater, but not necessarily as warm, not necessarily knitted.

*Vest:*
AE: - a sweater/jumper with no sleeves (the word may refer to the knitted kind we are discussing here or to the formal woven type more typical of menswear). It may or may not have buttons.
- a waistcoat.
BE: - an undergarment worn by the less-hardy and by labourers on building sites - a simmet.

*Waistcoat:*
AE: ??
BE: - the often-superfluous third piece of a three-piece suit, whose bottom button must never be buttoned.

My own nuance would have the sweater thick, cuddly and warm; the pullover worn by someone over 80; the jumper anything from a sweater to something very tight, skinny and skimpy .....STOP it..

Comments?


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## Kelly B

For the sake of completeness:
In AE: A vest is a sweater/jumper with no sleeves (the word may refer to the knitted kind we are discussing here or to the formal woven type more typical of menswear). It may or may not have buttons.


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## Amityville

Fascinating differences. Your vest is more akin to the French veste than the English vest. By suspenders do you still mean braces ? (ie things to hold up trousers rather than stockings)


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## VenusEnvy

panjandrum said:
			
		

> *Pullover:*
> AE - not common.


Um, but it *is * common. 


			
				VenusEnvy said:
			
		

> A pullover, for me, can be many things. Basically, a pullover  is anything that I can put on over the shirt that I am already wearing, to make me warmer. Here is another example of a pullover.
> For examples, a pullover can be a sweater or a sweatshirt.



I hope you didn't say this because of Aupick's (a forero in the UK) comment.   



			
				Aupick said:
			
		

> [...] in American English the word pullover isn't used and [...]


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## Kelly B

Yep, and the straps that hold up an American-style jumper resemble a built-in version of suspenders.

Braces are the clip/wire/rubber devices used to straighten the teeth.

As VenusEnvy was saying, pullover is not an uncommon word in the US, although I'd say sweater is preferred. Pullover is used to emphasize not-a-cardigan.


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## panjandrum

Come on Amityville - I've just recovered from the tight jumpers and now you're on about suspenders..... Seriously though, I've added a few more comments to my classification post earlier.  I might add more if on the theme, just in the interest of consolidating the international contributions to the upper-body-outer-garment survey.


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## Amityville

Liberty-bodice to you, Panjandrum. I will keep an idea on your edits.
A kind of stiff girlie vest with hooks and eyes (Kelly, do you know hooks and eyes ?)


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## cuchuflete

I'm quoting all of the Panjandromic taxonomy because it's generally correct.  My differences noted below.

cheers, wearing only a bathing suit in this heat...great uni for lawnmower repair!

Cuchu



			
				panjandrum said:
			
		

> Amazing!! Please excuse my classification obsession....
> 
> *Sweater:*
> AE & BE - warm, one-piece extra layer, maybe woolly, pulls over your head, has sleeves.  There are very bulky thick woolen ones, and also very thin ones made of cashmere or cotton or cashmere/silk blends.
> 
> *Cardigan:*
> AE & BE - a bit like a sweater but with buttons or zip up the front. Yes
> 
> *Pullover:*
> AE - not common, emphasising not-a-cardigan.  Fairly common. Typically has long sleeves.
> BE - same as sweater, short or long sleeves.
> AnnieF (only so far) does not have sleeves.
> 
> *Jumper:*
> AE - pinafore, dress, slacks - must have buckles and straps at the top.
> BE - same as sweater, but not necessarily as warm, not necessarily knitted.
> 
> *Vest:*
> AE: - a sweater/jumper with no sleeves (the word may refer to the knitted kind we are discussing here or to the formal woven type more typical of menswear). It may or may not have buttons.
> BE: - an undergarment worn by the less-hardy and by labourers on building sites - a simmet.
> 
> My own nuance would have the sweater thick, cuddly and warm; the pullover worn by someone over 80; the jumper anything from a sweater to something very tight, skinny and skimpy .....STOP it..
> 
> Comments?



Those of us AE speakers who read literature from before the 1940s are familiar with braces, which is another word for the more common AE, suspenders. "Belts and braces" is a not uncommon phrase, for something done with extra care or provision for success, as in holding up ones pants [trousers in BE] with both a belt and suspenders.


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## Kelly B

Oh, I'd forgotten about suspenders. They dangle off that liberty-thingy, right? which would be a bustier/corset/merry widow in AE. Sure, Amityville, I'm, um, intimately acquainted with hooks-and-eyes. They're on the everyday versions of ladies' undergarments, as well as on the fancier types.
The BE vest is an AE undershirt, right? 
What is the BE version of the menswear vest I was thinking of, the sleeveless part of a formal three piece suit?


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## panjandrum

Weskit (Dickensian).
Waistcoat - that had been skipping in and out of awareness, but simply would not come when I called.


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## panjandrum

VenusEnvy said:
			
		

> Um, but it *is *common.
> I hope you didn't say this because of Aupick's (a forero in the UK) comment.


Venus - I grovel 
Correction noted. Why I was attributing the views of a UK source living in France to the entire AE-speaking population is beyond comprehension


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## mzsweeett

Amityville said:
			
		

> Liberty-bodice to you, Panjandrum. I will keep an idea on your edits.
> A kind of stiff girlie vest with hooks and eyes (Kelly, do you know hooks and eyes ?)


How in the world did they come up with the name of *liberty bodice *when the darn thing is so constrictive...not that I know personally or anything......
They are restrictive undergarments like a corset or bustier, right??  To me, neither are comfortable for common wearing.

Sweet T.


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## panjandrum

"Liberty" was a trade name for corsetry produced by R.& H.W. Symington and Company. Popular from the late 19c to the 1960s. The "Liberty Bodice" was a boneless "training corset" for young girls (produced from 1908).

Never heard of them 

The taxonomy (thanks cuchu) of OUTER upper bodywear looks like it is closing soon, at least for tonight.


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## cuchuflete

Not yet Panj...!    Good grief, we haven't even got to carapace, speaking of Gregorian bodices.


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## mzsweeett

cuchuflete said:
			
		

> Not yet Panj...! Good grief, we haven't even got to carapace, speaking of Gregorian bodices.


Good Lord, that sounds menacing!! Gregorian bodices?? Sounds worse than water torture!!! I cringe as I await the definition....

Sweet T.


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## Mr X

In Australian English, I would say the following:

A cardigan is generally knitted, with buttons or a zip up the front.
A jumper is a one piece, long sleeved garment worn over the top of your shirt or whatever. (It has to be pulled over your head).
A jacket is like a jumper but has a zip or buttons, and is generally more lightweight.
The word vest isn't used much, but would describe something like a jumper with short sleeves.
A waistcoat is a formal piece of clothing that you wear with a suit.
The words sweater and pullover aren't used, but would be understood as something like a jumper. The words used the most often out of those I've covered are jumper and jacket.

Mr X.


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## mjscott

Kelly B said:
			
		

> Oh, I'd forgotten about suspenders. They dangle off that liberty-thingy, right? which would be a bustier/corset/merry widow in AE.


 
I think the dangly things are garters--yes the same word they use for those knee-high dealies to hold up men's socks. To me suspenders hold the pants up at the waist (going up), whereas garters hold the stocking up towards the waist (going down).

Zounds! It's as if we're creating our own little torture chambers!

I like your links Venus. I could see exactly what you were talking about.


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## Raelichu

See? Now I'm worried, I feel a little guilty... if I had known that my question would create such a debate about what is what, I would have simply remained with the doubt...


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## cuchuflete

mzsweeett said:
			
		

> Good Lord, that sounds menacing!! Gregorian bodices?? Sounds worse than water torture!!! I cringe as I await the definition....
> 
> Sweet T.



T- I was just playing with Gregor, Kafka's roach, wearing his habitual
attire.  
c.


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## cuchuflete

sorry...forgot the definition:



> carapace
> A	noun
> 1 	carapace, shell, cuticle
> hard outer covering or case of certain organisms such as arthropods and turtles


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## panjandrum

Raelichu said:
			
		

> See? Now I'm worried, I feel a little guilty... if I had known that my question would create such a debate about what is what, I would have simply remained with the doubt...


PLEASE don't feel guilty​ Have a very big thank you for providing SO much entertainment and education


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## VenusEnvy

Yes, I had no idea that these simple garments differed in such a way across regions!


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## Amityville

And I'm sure there are others. 
'mac' for instance and 'jerkin'.
For underwear specialists, we haven't even mentioned knickers.


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## AnnieF

Amityville, you might have just started up a whole new chapter of this thread!  Because of course in BE we also call them pants, which mean something completely different to our friends across the Atlantic.  While we're at it, I remember my shock and confusion when I first heard a (female) American skier talking about her 'fanny bag' ..... which proved to be not at all what I first imagined!

And I distinctly remember wearing a liberty bodice as a child in the late fifties/early sixties, so they were around for quite some time.

Isn't this sort of thread one of the reasons why we all love the forums?


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## mjscott

AnnieF
What did _you _think when she said _fanny bag_? It makes me think of a purse that is worn like a belt.


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## AnnieF

I learned fairly quickly that that's what she meant - but the word 'fanny' has a completely different connotation in BE than in AE.  In BE 'fanny' is a slang word for a somewhat more intimate part of the female anatomy - the vagina!  You can guess the images that ran through my mind ..... !  We call the same thing a 'bum bag' - and I suppose given that a 'bum' in AE doesn't necessarily means someone's backside could make that seem an odd term to you guys!


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## Helicopta

Just to add to the general air of confusion. In BE a jumper/pullover/sweater/jersey without sleeves is known as a tank top (very popular in the 70's). I tried to find a picture using google and all I could find were pictures of what I'd call vests and that I believe in Australia they call singlets. I'll keep out of the women's underwear... (debate) .


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## mjscott

How'd we get from the Women's Apparel department to Lingerie?


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## Helicopta

Well, I don't know what they mean to you but where I come from garters and suspenders are not mere apparel but definitely classed as lingerie. Suspenders are the things that hold stockings up and a garter is a band worn around a lady's thigh.
Now I'm going to have to go and have a lie down...


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## panjandrum

mjscott said:
			
		

> How'd we get from the Women's Apparel department to Lingerie?


 We came up the escalator and turned left

Helicopta - are tank tops still around?  I haven't heard the term used for a long time.


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## LV4-26

Thks very much for this thread. It's just swept away all my illusions : I thought I could speak English. I was wrong. I think I could manage if I had to buy myself some clothes in London. Obviously I couldn't in Los Angeles.


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## VenusEnvy

panjandrum said:
			
		

> Helicopta - are tank tops still around?  I haven't heard the term used for a long time.


Here they are! In fact, I'm wearing one now! Well, I'm wearing a wife-beater, but that's a whole different story!


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## mzsweeett

VenusEnvy said:
			
		

> Here*,* they are! In fact, I'm wearing one now! Well, I'm wearing a wife-beater, but that's a whole different story!


LOL wife beater....now my friend try explaining this to the others here!!!! So how common are these terms over in the BE world? Tank tops and camisole tops are very common over here...but what would they be called over there??


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## VenusEnvy

MZ: Thanks. As we are in a language forum, I need to be more mindful of where I place those daggone commas!


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## mzsweeett

VenusEnvy said:
			
		

> MZ: Thanks. As we are in a language forum, I need to be more mindful of where I place those daggone commas!


I figured it was a momentary case of butter fingers...lol.  

Sweet T.


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## panjandrum

VenusEnvy said:
			
		

> Here they are! In fact, I'm wearing one now! Well, I'm wearing a wife-beater, but that's a whole different story!


I have never heard of wife-beater as a garment. Wondering why, I Googled and found:

_Just about everyone under thirty has heard this nasty little bit of slang, and we've all asked "how?!" and "why?!?"_
...which explains that.

As for the missing comma - what missing comma?
I understood the original comment, complete with exclamation mark, as an exultant shout of discovery. I wondered about your sanity, but not your punctuation


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## mzsweeett

Yes Panj, you have it totally right..... I was more like toying with Venus.... making a pause where I sort of figured there was none anyway.... so much for my humor... it always seems to come over different than I intended... .  It did still fit the sentence though.....

I dislike the name of the *wife beater* tank top myself....just as much as I dislike the _*cami tank*_. The tank top that is supposed to resemble a camisole. You could really get lost in this world of sub-divisions of clothing. Best thing to do if you are a tourist or newcomer is just go to the store and look for what you want...if you really can't find it....ask a sales associate. I really feel for newcomers in America....we have such different names for things.

Sweet T.


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## Helicopta

Now this is what I call a tank top. As sported here by English football legend Kevin Keegan. You can still get them, but mostly in retro clothing shops. As a child of the seventies I'm afraid I must insist that this is the correct garment to bear that name. Anything else is just a vest. 
By the way, I'm over 30 and I've heard the term 'wife beater' used to describe a vest. I've also heard it used to describe Stella Artois beer!


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## mjscott

Helicopta said:
			
		

> Well, I don't know what they mean to you but where I come from garters and suspenders are not mere apparel but definitely classed as lingerie. Suspenders are the things that hold stockings up and a garter is a band worn around a lady's thigh.
> Now I'm going to have to go and have a lie down...


 




Tried to find an appropriate picture for WR as an example of a garter belt with garters (what they're called over here). A garter is also the elastic holding up hosiery on the thigh, or above the elbow to hold someone's sleeve up off a page of wet ink.


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## mjscott

These are what are known as suspenders:





--but in googling the image, I also saw both what we call garter belts in along with the suspenders--so I'm thinking we live and learn!


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## LV4-26

Yellow jersey ?  

http://fr.sports.yahoo.com/050705/1/87e6.html


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## white_ray

Interesting thread!

*jumper* 1 
_Noun_
*1*. _Brit & Austral_ a knitted garment covering the upper part of the body 
*2*. _US & Canada pinafore dress [obsolete jump_ man's loose jacket] 

The FreeDictionary
wr


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## Hildy1

Someone may have said this before and I missed it, but...
In AE, a "sweater" can be either a pullover or a cardigan. This was the case when I was growing up, and a google images search shows that it is still the case. Most of the sweaters shown did not button up the front, but a few did.


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## RM1(SS)

Let me add a few more thoughts, to confuse everyone further.... 

As Hildy said, in AE a _sweater_ is a knit garment used as an extra layer of clothing for additional warmth.  A _pullover_ is a sweater* that is pulled on over the head; a _cardigan_ is a sweater that buttons or zips up the front.  Both would normally be expected to have long sleeves - a sleeveless version of either would be a _sweater vest_ (bearing in mind that an AE _vest_ is a BE _waistcoat_).

A _jumper_ is either a BE term for sweater, some sort of sleeveless dress that is usually worn with a shirt under it, or the "shirt" portion of a sailor's crackerjacks.


* Or sweatshirt, or even a light jacket such as an anorak.


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## Prairiefire

Fascinating! I don't have the energy for the categorization this needs, but I see differences among BE, AE, AusE, etc.; differences in regionalisms within AE (there are some AE answers here that differ from the meanings I know--I've never heard of an anorak!!); differences between men and women's clothing; and differences over time. Yikes!

For what it's worth, here are the meanings this Midwestern, middle-aged female applies to these terms:

*Sweater*: For men or women, a knit garment worn over the upper part of the body. Sweaters are always made from a relatively heavy knit but can be from any fiber. (Lightweight knit upper-body garments are not called sweaters, but other things, such as 'tee shirt') If a sweater does not have sleeves, it is called a 'sweater vest.' Sweaters may be either worn alone or over some other piece of clothing for extra warmth. Upper-body clothing items made from a specific knit fabric called 'fleece' (not many people know fabrics well enough to use that term) are called not sweaters, but *sweatshirts*. 

For men and women, a sweater that buttons up the front is a *cardigan*, and the word means nothing else to me. Cardigans have sleeves, and may be worn alone (less common) or over a shirt or blouse (more common.) If a button-up-the-front-sweater has no sleeves, I would call it a sweater vest rather than a cardigan.

A sweater that you pull on over your head is called a *pullover*, and the word means nothing else to me, and is not at all uncommon. I have a sense that the term 'pullover' is used more by women; men just call it a sweater.

A *jumper *is a sleeveless or short-sleeved dress (any fabric, any weave, any form of fastening) that a woman wears over a blouse. Typically, it does not have a belt or a waistband. If it does have any sort of waistband, it's very loose. 

A *jumpsuit*, when worn by either men or women, is a one-piece garment that covers the upper body with or without sleeves and has attached pants legs--unless it's made of denim, is sleeveless, and has straps with buckles, in which case it is called *overalls*. 

A *vest *is a man's or woman's upper-body garment that is worn over a blouse or shirt, and never has sleeves. It may be fastened in any way or pulled over the head (that would be a knit sweater vest.) 

A *waistcoat *is what the Brits call a vest. The word has no other meaning for me. 

A *tank top* is a casual garment worn alone (neither over or under other clothes), always made of knit fabric, always pulled on over one's head, always without sleeves. When it's a woman's garment, it is usually tight and may be a fairly nice piece of clothing. (If the woman's garment has neither sleeves nor straps, it is a *tube top*.) When it's a man's garment worn alone, it's often loose and is very casual/sporty/sloppy. If the man's version is made of white tee-shirt fabric, it can informally be called a *wife-beater*, because it makes the man wearing it look thuggish. If it's worn under a dressier shirt by a man, it's a plain old *undershirt*. (But a man's undershirt can either have sleeves or be a tank top.)


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## RM1(SS)

WR Dictionary:
*anorak* /ˈænəˌræk/n

a warm waterproof hip-length jacket usually with a hood, originally worn in polar regions, but now worn for any outdoor activity

I know the term from when I was in Scotland.  This man is wearing one.  The garment and its name are derived from what these folks are wearing.


Prairiefire said:


> I have a sense that the term 'pullover' is used more by women; men just call it a sweater.


I concur.  In my experience*, men (other than Fred Rogers ) almost never wear cardigans; the vast majority of men's sweaters are pullovers, so most men don't need to distinguish between the two.


* Your mileage may vary.


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## Prairiefire

Gender difference confirmed: My husband just came home from a meeting, and I asked him to define 'cardigan' and 'pullover.' His answer: "Two types of sweaters, but I can't tell you more than that." 

The garment on the gentleman in the linked photo that you call an 'anorak,' I would call a 'windbreaker,' and I would say the native women are wearing 'parkas.'


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## natkretep

Helicopta said:


> Now this is what I call a tank top. As sported here by English football legend Kevin Keegan. You can still get them, but mostly in retro clothing shops. As a child of the seventies I'm afraid I must insist that this is the correct garment to bear that name. Anything else is just a vest.


Here's a thread on the tank top and sweater vest:
"sweater vest" in the UK


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## RM1(SS)

Thanks for the "sweater vest" link, natkretep.  I hope no one will mind if I comment on it here, rather than there....



JulianStuart said:


> I think of a tank top as like a t-shirt but with no shoulders,





natkretep said:


> Julian: presumably you mean 'a t-shirt but with no *sleeves*' rather than 'a t-shirt but with no *shoulders*'.



To me, this and this are tank tops.  They do have straps that go up over the shoulder, but those straps don't come close to covering the point of the shoulder (unlike those on this sleeveless t-shirt).  That was what I interpreted Julian as saying, and I think it's a good way to describe the difference.

That thread also included several references to _wool vests_.  To me, the distinguishing thing about a sweater/sweater-vest is that it is knitted - I would describe any waistcoat made of wool cloth as a _wool vest_.

I'd never heard of a _slipover_ until I read that thread.

And finally, when I hear _singlet_, I think of something like what the man is wearing in my second link.  Does that also hold for you BE speakers, or is it more loosely defined for you?


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## natkretep

Yes, my idea of a singlet is the same as yours - thin strap over the shoulders.


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## englishamateur

I would like to know if is any difference between jersey, sweater and jumper . Can you explain when to use these words? 

Thank you


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## entangledbank

Add two more to your list: pullover and guernsey. For me, a jumper, pullover, and sweater are the same thing. I call it a jumper. In AmE it is a sweater, but that's not exclusively AmE. A jersey or guernsey is more specialized: a fisherman or a footballer would wear this, and I don't know whether they're the same, or if fishermen wear jerseys but footballers wear guernseys.


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## englishamateur

oh thank you so much !


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## Myridon

In American English, a guernsey is a cow.


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