socksy pants

I've been looking for thermals for awhile in Connors size so he can wear them when he goes skiing or snowboarding and haven't found any small enough. So I found some brown thick tights and got those. When I gave them to him, he went to try them on and came back to me and said "mo-om, these aren't socks. They're socksy pants." Or was it pantsy socks? Shoot, I can't remember!