Frazz by Jef Mallett for December 13, 2012

I grew up calling those things on the feet “thongs”. Now they’re “flip-flops”.

-You certainly don’t want to get them mixed up……

I thought whether you call it a ‘flip-flop’ or a ‘thong’ just depends on what part of the country you live in? Much like the soda/pop thing.

some places don’t care what you wear to work.

We called them zoris in the fifties – maybe it was a brand name.

Thongs in Western Canada when I was a kid in the 60’s

In the 60’s in the SF Bay Area, they were called, “thongs,” flip-flops" and, forgive me, “Jap-flaps.”

I guess the cost of wearing a thong might depend on the appearance of the wearer. As a 56 year old overwieght man, I probably could not afford the cost. However, a potential centerfold model might get paid to wear theirs.

In California we call them flip flops, thongs, zoris, whatever we feel like. Some people wear them all the time.

I am not sure what state Jef Mallet lives in, but it is obviously not California or the gal’s dad would have reported (or sued) his employer for illegal practices. You can’t charge an employee a fee to wear allowable clothing. If you have a “casual Friday” rule, it’s a rule, not a privilege one pays for. That’s discrimination. An admin assistant who makes $15/hour and supports 3 kids would be barred from wearing jeans because she can’t afford to pay $5, and the CEO who makes six figures could wear jeans.

But then, in California, lots of offices allow employees to wear jeans everyday. With their zoris.

A New Yorker here. Through the ‘60s and ’70s, I only knew them as thongs. Never knew what Jimmy Buffett was talking about until the mid-’80s. Since the ‘90s, I’ve only heard them called flip-flops, except for a few relatives older than me who still call them thongs.