Meanings
- colloquialdatedpluralplural onlyBreeches, trousers.
"I had barely the time, as he made for the cabin door, to grab him by the seat of his inexpressibles.
1903, Joseph Conrad, Falk3 more examples
Have you never observed, through my inexpressibles, a large prominency, circa genitalia? It was a swelled testicle […] .
1796, Edward Gibbon, letter, in Memoirs of My Life, Penguin 1990, p. 196For some years past the favorite costume of the out-and-out young gentleman has been a rough pilot coat, with two gilt hooks and eyes to the velvet collar; buttons somewhat larger than crown-pieces; a black or fancy neckerchief, loosely tied; a wide-brimmed hat, with a low crown; tightish inexpressibles, and iron-shod boots.
1833-36, Charles Dickens, Sketches by Boz, "The Out and Out Young Gentleman", in The Oxford Illustrated Dickens, p. 596"Well , my good man ," said he , brushing off , with the arm of his coat , some dust that had settled on his inexpressibles
1832, Edward Bulwer-Lytton, Eugene Aram
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
From inexpressible + -s. Compare unmentionables (“underwear”).
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
inexpressibles. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/inexpressibles
“inexpressibles.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/inexpressibles. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “inexpressibles,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/inexpressibles.
Source: inexpressibles on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.