Young Girl In Shorts

Matters are further complicated by the fact that "shorts" in American English can refer to underwear, which is not the case in British English (except for the compound term "boxer shorts," a long-time American coinage recently gaining in Britain). Conversely, the word "pants" refers to outerwear (= trousers) in American usage (except when modified into "underpants") but when used unqualified in British English usually means underwear.
Sociology