Plaid is a checked pattern or the cloth with that pattern: a plaid shirt. The word is especially common in American English. It isn't the thing you wrap yourself in: that's a blanket, and a light cover you drape over a sofa or armchair is a throw, the same word as the verb throw.
plaid: will you get the meaning right?
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a plaid + shirt/skirt/scarf (mainly US); tartan / check (UK); wrap yourself in + a blanket / a throw
- He always wears a red plaid shirt when we go camping.
- I bought a plaid scarf in Edinburgh to keep warm during the trip.
What changed
First versionIt was cold in the flat, so I wrapped myself in a plaid and made some tea.
RevisionIt was cold in the flat, so I wrapped myself in a blanket and made some tea.
In several languages, a word like plaid means a warm blanket, so it seems to fit. But for an English speaker, plaid is a pattern or fabric, not something you wrap yourself in. Wrapped myself in a plaid sounds like “wrapped myself in a check pattern”. The word you need is blanket.
In Britain, the Scottish check is usually called tartan: a tartan skirt, and a simple check is check: a check shirt. A British speaker will understand plaid, but it sounds American. In Scotland, a plaid is also a long woollen checked cloth worn over the shoulder as part of traditional dress.
Your turn
It's chilly on the balcony, so take a warm ___ to put over your knees.
Show the answer
blanket — To keep your knees warm, you put a blanket over them. Plaid is a checked pattern or fabric, and you don't cover yourself with a pattern.
Describe a favourite checked item in your wardrobe. Say what it is and when you wear it.
My favourite piece of clothing is a green plaid shirt, which I wear on weekend trips to the countryside.
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