>However, I think the usage is plural, as in "my pants are dirty".
>
>That's an interesting point - and related to it is the concept of buying a "pair of pants" and buying a "pair of socks". When I think of someone buying a pair of pants, I think of one unit, but when someone buys a pair of socks, two units.
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>Maybe because the one pair of pants covers two legs? But then a long-sleeved shirt (that covers two arms) would be a "pair of shirts". Too much thinking on a muggy Saturday afternoon. ;)
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>
>Kevin

I guess the unwritten rule is "if there's no gap between the two limbs, it's a pair" :-)