Why “pantaloon” is a great word
PANTALOON — [Noun] A foolish old man, especially a stock character in comedy, or trousers of a style reminiscent of those worn by such a figure. From French pantalon, from Italian Pantalone, a stock character in Commedia dell'arte, itself from the Venetian name Pantaleon, after Saint Pantaleone, a popular saint in Venice. Unlike buffoon, a general purveyor of absurdity, or breeches, a precise term for knee-length legwear, pantaloon carries the musty whiff of the stage and a specific, aged infirmity of wit. It is the scent of mothballs and greed in a threadbare velvet robe, the absurd slap of loose slippers on a cobbled stage, and the sound of a wheezy, predictable jest falling flat—a testament to how time renders both men and their garments into objects of gentle, cruel delight.