monokini

Definition

The lower part of a bikini without the upper part (i.e., topless).

Etymology

Borrowed from French monokini or simply mono- + -kini, punningly reinterpreting the first syllable of "bikini" as the prefix bi-.

Example Sentences

• "All this so impressed the Appellate Court in Aix-en-Provence that it reversed the convictions. "Inasmuch as the spectacle of the nudity of the human body has nothing intrinsic in it that would outrage normal, even delicate decency, and since Claudine Durand concealed her sexual parts with a sufficiently opaque monokini, we acquit her.""
• "French academics and historians have spent the early summer months pondering the sociological meaning of the demise of France's once-favourite piece of beachwear, the "monokini" – the bottom half of a bikini with no top."
• "In fact, the San Francisco Chronicle featured a photo of a woman in a monokini — her exposed breasts clearly visible — on its front page."

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