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Fine Dictionary

To wear the breeches

A woman wearing a short-sleeved blouse, riding breeches and boots sits against the trunk of a tree.
A woman wearing a short-sleeved blouse, riding breeches and boots sits against the trunk of a tree.
Illustrations
French nobleman seen from behind, wearing a fur trimmed tippet and knee breeches. Boots with wide cuffs and spurs; a sword on the left. Hat with feather on the head. He stands on a platform and looks out over a landscape with water and trees.
French nobleman seen from behind, wearing a fur trimmed tippet and knee breeches. Boots with wide cuffs and spurs; a sword on the left. Hat with feather on the head. He stands on a platform and looks out over a landscape with water and trees.
French nobleman, epee on the left. He wears a short tippet, breeches and spur boots, covered with overshoe (visible on right foot). A flat hat with a floppy brim on his long, spreading hair. In the background small figures in a cityscape.
French nobleman, epee on the left. He wears a short tippet, breeches and spur boots, covered with overshoe (visible on right foot). A flat hat with a floppy brim on his long, spreading hair. In the background small figures in a cityscape.
The woman is wearing a long dress and the man wearing breeches, cloak and turban. The couple is accompanied by a bearded man and a boy. In the background a column and passage. Sheet 56 recto from a sketchbook with 77 sheets.
The woman is wearing a long dress and the man wearing breeches, cloak and turban. The couple is accompanied by a bearded man and a boy. In the background a column and passage. Sheet 56 recto from a sketchbook with 77 sheets.
A jester-like figure with a big nose strums the strings of a violin. He wears breeches with large bows and has a cap on his head. The print is part of a series of twelve prints with fools.
A jester-like figure with a big nose strums the strings of a violin. He wears breeches with large bows and has a cap on his head. The print is part of a series of twelve prints with fools.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
  1. To wear the breeches
    See under Breeches.
  2. To wear the breeches
    to usurp the authority of the husband; -- said of a wife.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary
  1. To wear the breeches
    (said of a wife), to usurp the authority of the husband: to be master
Etymology

Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary A.S. bréc; found in all Teut. languages; cf. Ger. bruch, Dut. brock.

Usage in literature

The fashion of the time required men to wear at a ball white kerseymere breeches and silk stockings. "Domestic Peace" by Honore de Balzac

His stumps have bled into the linen wrappings, and he seems to wear red breeches. "Under Fire" by Henri Barbusse

They tattoo themselves so as to have the appearance of wearing breeches. "The World of Waters" by Mrs. David Osborne

Under this they wear long close breeches down to their ancles, crumpled about the small of their legs like boots. "A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Volume IX." by Robert Kerr

Prisoners are still wearing their own clothes, although it is said that enough jumpers of prison sacking are waiting to breech the lot. "A Woman's Part in a Revolution" by Natalie Harris Hammond

It is the old, old case of the wife trying to wear the breeches. "Real Ghost Stories" by William T. Stead

Hence his wardrobe had come to include a pair of deer-stalking breeches, very little the worse for wear. "Major Vigoureux" by A. T. Quiller-Couch

The next step was to wear a hat, and exchange the breech-clout for pantaloons, and the blanket for a shirt or coat. "The History of Minnesota and Tales of the Frontier" by Charles E. Flandrau

For winter wear, the coat and leggings should be made of Melton; and the breeches of elastic cloth or knitted wool to match. "The Horsewoman" by Alice M. Hayes

You'd 'a' had to wear the breeches, June. "The Fighting Edge" by William MacLeod Raine