britch·es

(brĭch′ĭz)

pl.n.

Breeches.

Idiom:

too big for (one's) britches

Overconfident; cocky.

[Alteration of breeches, pl. of breech.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

britches

(ˈbrɪtʃɪz)

pl n

(Clothing & Fashion) a variant spelling of breeches

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

breech•es

(ˈbrɪtʃ ɪz)

n. (used with a pl. v.)

1. knee-length trousers, often with buckles or decoration at the bottoms, worn by men in the 17th to early 19th centuries.

2. riding breeches.

3. Informal. trousers.

Idioms:

too big for one's breeches, more insolent and conceited than is warranted by one's position or abilities.

[1125–75; Middle English, pl. of breech]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

britches - informal term for breeches

breeches, knee breeches, knee pants, knickerbockers, knickers - trousers ending above the knee

plural, plural form - the form of a word that is used to denote more than one

Translations

falzar

broek

Mentioned in

References in periodicals archive

If, as case believes, we are living at the end of print culture, why bother to publish the plays of Split Britches in book form?

Split Britches: Lesbian Practice, Feminist Performance

Using "folksy" language that does not demean the resident may also help (e.g., "It's time to change your britches," rather than, "I need to change your wet diaper.").

Managing the combative demented resident

The clear bright flames writhed around the zouave's britches. No one saw them, not even he.

Infernal visions

Becoat thinks it's crucial to cultivate good information, so that "flying by the seat of your britches," as he calls it, is kept to a minimum.

Making money making toys: how black inventors are bringing innovative ideas to the toy market

Others on a trip will likely be Scandinavians, Swiss, and Germans smartly attired in leather boots and tailored britches. We saddled up in less splendid but still serviceable jeans and rubber boots.

Iceland is rugged, and the horses are surefooted

Barwick lives on a farm owned by her family for generations with a woodland that has never been pastured, that naturally grows wildflowers, including Blue Bells, Columbine, Dutchman Britches, Trillium, Wake Robin, Yellow Violets, and Trout Lilies to name a few.

Du Quoin Garden Club holds its April meeting

ECHO!" Like a voice from the past He brought memories back Of wet cobbled streets All shiny and black A patch on my britches No boots on my feet And an armful of papers To sell down our street The clang of the tramcars Down on the road Clip, clop of the carthorses Pulling their load A man with a long pole Lights the street lamp You almost can smell The fog and the damp Someone selling firewood It's wet but who'll buy "Put it in the oven luv.

THE LIVERPOOL ECHO; Your Poem

Given its light weight, this s is a knife for those who like to carry a handful of self-protection without dragging their britches down or sticking out like a sore thumb.

Arkansas thoroughbred: Bob Dozier's little workhorse is a lightweight wonder

Do not worry, I shall not be ballooning my britches with vast amounts of stuffing, I prefer to have the use of my limbs as nature intended.

MORNINGSERIAL

Well, hold on to your britches because I've just had a week of fun with a car which cannot stretch to even 1,000cc and has the sort of horsepower Wells Fargo would recognise.

How sex in the city saved the planet

Eric Kimmel's LITTLE BRITCHES AND THE RATTLERS (9780761454328, $16.99) will reach ages 4-8 with an outstanding survey of Little Britches, who saddles her pony and heads out for the rodeo hoping to win a contest prize.

Marshall Cavendish

On Thursday, the songs were all performed with joyously large helping of theatrics and jolly good fun by the eclectic ensemble who had embraced their subject matter wholeheartedly (m'hearties) all the way down to their bandanas, braces and britches in some cases.

Packed catalo gue of pirated music; SummerTyne - Rogue's Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs and Chanteys, Hall One, The Sage Gateshead