plus fours

American  

plural noun

1. long, baggy knickers for men, introduced before World War I and worn until the 1930s for sports activities, especially golf.

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plus fours British  

plural noun

1. men's baggy knickerbockers reaching below the knee, now only worn for hunting, golf, etc

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Other Word Forms

• plus-foured
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of plus fours

First recorded in 1915–20; so called because four inches are added to the length of ordinary knickers to give the desired looseness

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

plus fours

Sarazen, a go-his-own-way type who continued to wear plus fours when all the other guys had switched to pants, called his deuce a “dodo,” the flightless and extinct bird from the island of Mauritius.

From Golf Digest ● Mar. 31, 2018

The most memorable in the first category were Richard Chai's roomy oversized plus fours; in the latter were Billy Reid's patterned "baller shorts," which were nearly as wide across as they were long.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 19, 2015

There seems to be little difference in getting Michael Gove to dress up in a bib and plus fours and throwing him into a roomful of barristers.

From The Guardian ● Jun. 1, 2015

The “Reserved for Rory McIlroy” placard was mentioned by one fan, an Irishwoman, as a clear sign that McIlroy had become too big for his plus fours.

From New York Times ● Jul. 13, 2013

It was yellow slickers with writing on the back, college pennants, and plus fours.

From "Cheaper by the Dozen" by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey