Why do they call the area between the bottom of a woman's ribcage and her hips the "waist"?

Answer 1

Rest of joke :

I mean, they could easily have fit another pair of t i t s in there!

Fnaar! Fnar!!

Answer 2

The same reason they call the area between the bottom of a man's ribcage and his hips the 'waist'.

Answer 3

Listed below are definitions from the Oxford English Dictionary. The word "waist" is derived from Old English. The term refers to something that increases in size.

waist
 • noun 1 the part of the human body below the ribs and above the hips. 2 a narrow part in the middle of something such as a violin or hourglass.

 — ORIGIN probably from an Old English word related to WAX2.
 
wax2
  • verb 1 (of the moon) have a progressively larger part of its visible surface illuminated, so that it appears to increase in size. 2 literary become larger or stronger. 3 speak or write in the specified manner: they waxed lyrical about the old days.

  — ORIGIN Old English.

Answer 4

why do they call the area between the knee and ankle bones a "shin"?

Answer 5

Well, they had to call it something, otherwise people trying to discuss it wouldn't know what to call it.
Why do they call the bump in your face 'nose'? ;-)

Answer 6

torso

Answer 7

abs?