Green’s Dictionary of Slang

kecks n.

1. trousers.

1886		W. Newton Secrets of Tramp Life Revealed 8: Kecks ... Trousers.
1906		A.H. Lewis Confessions of a Detective 17: Half of ’em’s got knockout drops or chloroform bottles in their kecks right now.
1958		C. Lee diary 1 Feb. in Eight Bells & Top Masts (2001) 33: He told me to [...] see if I could find a shop for a jacket and a pair of kecks [...] What’s kecks? Trousers.
1977		A. Bleasdale Who’s Been Sleeping in my Bed 85: We stood behind these bushes an’ took our kecks off.
1995		M. Simpson ‘Prufrock Scoused’ Catching Up with Hist. 24: Juss you see me in me dago kecks.
1998		M. Newall ‘Sir Gawayne and the Grene Knight’ in Indep. Weekend Rev. 26 Dec. 1: Combatte kecques, welle-sharpenede Stanleye Knyve.
2001		N. Griffiths Sheepshagger 93: I always wondered like why he had to borow kex an a shirt off me that time.
2009		J. Joso Soothing Music for Stray Cats 114: I walked on [...] leaving him on the street there in his pissed down kecks.

2. knickers, underpants.

1966		T. Keyes All Night Stand 29: I pulled up her skirt, and she helped me with the kecks, so I just climbed straight on and gave it to her.
1988		R. Doyle Commitments 109: He’d just made a sap of himself, flinging his kaks at your women on the stage.
1993		I. Welsh Trainspotting 25: It looks fuckin awfay in thair, but it’s either that or ma fuckin keks.
1999		K. Sampson Powder 338: Two hundred and twelve fucken dollars for three fucken Michelobs! He’s trying to have me kecks off, here!
2000		Guardian Editor 7 Jan. 5: Becks wears my kecks.
2000		P. Howard Miseducation of Ross O’Carroll-Kelly (2004) 78: Everyone whips down their kacks, puts a mince pie between the cheeks of their orse [etc.].
2012		(con. 1980s) I. Welsh Skagboys 69: That wee Maria is a frosty chicky [...] it’ll take something special tae get intae those snooty wee keks.
2012		I. Rankin Standing in Another Man’s Grave (2013) 197: This place smells like a wrestler’s kecks.
2015		‘Elvis Costello’ Unfaithful Music 22: Seconds later, he draped himself in the doorway smoking a joint and wearing just a blue satin robe gathered carelessly at his waist. ‘Fuck me, he’s got no kecks on,’ said John.
2017		Guardian CiF 2 Jan. 🌐 I’d happily sneer at the Queen if she was thrashing around in a puddle with her cacks around her ankles.
2024		J. Meades Empty Wigs (t/s) 618: [A]ll the talk from Lisson Grove to Tyburnia was about the raid [...] and the buggering baronet with his kecks round his ankles.

In phrases

get one’s kecks kinked (v.) [var. on get one’s knickers in a twist under knickers n.]

to become over-emotional.

2012

D. O’Donnell Locked Ward (2013) 197: No point in getting your kecks kinked over a woman.