"Don't forget your thongs at the beach."
Where "Thongs" Comes From
The word "thong" is old — it comes from the Old English "þwong," meaning a narrow strip of leather or hide used as a lace or fastening. That original meaning is exactly why it fits the footwear: the sandal is held on by a thin strap running between the big toe and the second toe.
Rubber flip-flop sandals became popular in Australia from the 1950s and 60s onward, and Australians simply kept using the old "thong" name for the strap-based design, rather than adopting newer terms like "flip-flops" that caught on elsewhere.
How Aussies Actually Use It
This is one of the most famous points of confusion between Australian and American English — in the US, "thongs" almost always refers to a style of underwear. In Australia, that meaning barely registers; thongs are footwear, full stop, and you'll see them worn everywhere from the beach to the servo to (unofficially) the pub.
A fancier, sturdier version with a thicker sole is sometimes called "double pluggers," and going "thong shopping" before summer is a genuinely normal errand, not a euphemism.
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