Clothes word search

Everything in a closet, from socks and sneakers to a tuxedo or a ball gown. The list covers everyday clothes, outerwear for rain and snow (raincoat, poncho, parka, earmuffs), sleepwear, shoes and accessories, plus the small parts of a garment: collar, sleeve, pocket, button, zipper and hood.

A surprising number of clothes are named after people and places. The cardigan is named after the 7th Earl of Cardigan, a British army officer, and the tuxedo after Tuxedo Park, New York, where the style became fashionable in the 1880s. Pajamas comes from a Hindi and Urdu word for loose trousers, and jeans are thought to take their name from Genoa in Italy, whose sturdy cotton cloth was used for work clothes.

For children, getting dressed is daily vocabulary practice, and the puzzle can turn into a game: find a word, then point to it if you are wearing it. In a language class, the list is handy for sorting clothes by season or by the part of the body they cover.

Play tip: plurals fill this list (PANTS, JEANS, SOCKS, GLOVES, BOOTS, LEGGINGS), so many hidden words end in S, a letter that also turns up often in the filler. Start each of them from its first letter instead, which is usually easier to spot.