> . UK, where pants is pants and not trousers. ;)

I made this mistake once when I spent a summer in Ireland in high school. (I should add here that the people at this summer program were noticeably more homophobic than I was used to back home[0]) I had borrowed a pair of "trousers" from a friend for a costume for some event.

When asking permission from the RA later that night to go to a different dorm after lights-out, I told him, 'I need to give <friend> his pants back'.

I will never forget the look of horror that he gave me.

[0] Not sure if it's a cultural thing or just the program I happened to be at, but either way, it's relevant.