vest vs. jacket

Hello,

/TOEIC listening part I.set 32, exercise 8/

Unfortunately I saw only three cars. But at the first sight I said no to the first question, because I knew till now the jacket has sleeves. The waist-coat has no sleeves, isn-it?

Or am I mistaken and this man wears an orange jacket?

Bye and many thanks:
Kati Svaby

Hi Kati,

You’re right. A jacket typically has sleeves:
Google images: jacket
Dictionary definition: #1 jacket
In American English, I would say the man is wearing a vest – perhaps even a ‘safety vest’:
Google images: vest
The word ‘waistcoat’ is primarily used in British English. The vast majority of Americans do not know what a ‘waistcoat’ is.

The test is misleading. It would be more appropriate with the word ‘vest’ since that is the word that would be used by both Americans and Aussies, and would most likely also be understood by Brits.

I would not use ‘jacket’ (or ‘waistcoat’) to describe what that man is wearing either.
‘Safety vest’ gets my vote.

Hi Yankee and Bez,

Many thanks for your help. I think I found among the vests what this man wears.
Its name: Reflective safety vest.

Not as if it were an important word but every word is important,isn’t it?

Regards:
Kati