pant (redirected from panting)

be caught with your pants/trousers down

1. to be suddenly discovered doing something that you did not want other people to know about, especially having sex. Apparently he was caught with his pants down. His wife came home to find him in bed with the neighbour.

2. to be asked to do or say something that you are not prepared for. He asked me where I'd been the previous evening and I was caught with my trousers down.

See also: caught, down, trouser

[beat/bore/scare etc.] the pants off someone (informal)

if someone or something beats, bores, scares etc. the pants off someone, they beat, bore, or scare them completely. I hate sunbathing. It bores the pants off me. Horror films scare the pants off me.

See also: beat, bore, scare

by the seat of your pants

if you do something by the seat of your pants, you do it using your own experience and ability, without help from anyone else. We found our way by the seat of our pants, but if I ever did another jungle trek I'd take a guide.

See also: seat

fancy-pants (American & Australian, informal)

trying to seem too attractive or too clever in a way that is false. We liked the restaurant's food but not the fancy-pants decor. (always before noun) I don't know what she sees in that fancy-pants college professor of hers.

fly by the seat of your pants (informal)

to do something difficult without the necessary experience or ability. None of us had ever worked on a magazine before so we were flying by the seat of our pants. (often in continuous tenses)

See also: fly, seat

have ants in your pants (humorous)

to not be able to keep still because you are very excited or worried about something. She's got ants in her pants because she's going to a party tonight.

a smarty pants (informal)

someone who is always trying to seem more clever than everyone else in a way that is annoying. Cindy, the little smarty pants, will be the first to tell us where we went wrong.

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caught with your pants down

in a situation that embarrasses you. My job was to get as much information as possible so that my boss would not be caught with her pants down.

Usage notes: often said about situations you are not prepared for

See also: caught, down

fly by the seat of your pants

to do something difficult without the necessary experience or ability. None of us had ever worked on a magazine before so we were flying by the seat of our pants.

See also: fly, seat

have ants in your pants

to be very excited or worried about something. I've got ants in my pants — I can't wait to get started on my experiment.

scare the pants off someone

caught with your pants down

See also: scare

scare the pants off you

to frighten you very much. Spiders scare the pants off me.

Usage notes: also used with other verbs to emphasize an extreme reaction: Sunbathing bores the pants off me. Hugh always beats the pants off me in tennis.

scare the hell out of you

scare you to death

See also: scare

wear the pants

to be the person in charge in a marriage or family. She has the best-paid job and she also wears the pants in the family.

Usage notes: used to describe women, as in the example

Etymology: based on the idea that men are traditionally in control and wear trousers

See also: wear