In English, we use many funny phrases that involve clothes, like pants, to express different ideas or feelings. This post will explore some common and interesting idioms that use the word “pants.” These are phrases that might sound strange but are used a lot by people every day.
Pants Idioms
Here are 20 pants idioms in English with meaning and example sentence for each.
1. Wear the pants
Meaning: Be the decision-maker
Example: Sally always wears the pants at home.
2. Scare the pants off
Meaning: Terrify someone
Example: That movie scared the pants off me.
3. Caught with your pants down
Meaning: Found unprepared
Example: He was caught with his pants down during the quiz.
4. Pants on fire
Meaning: Lying blatantly
Example: His pants are on fire; he didn’t do his homework.
5. Fancy pants
Meaning: Someone who dresses fancily
Example: Look at you, all fancy pants today!
6. Ants in your pants
Meaning: Can’t sit still
Example: He’s got ants in his pants, always moving.
7. By the seat of your pants
Meaning: Manage by improvising
Example: I passed the test by the seat of my pants.
8. Keep your pants on
Meaning: Be patient
Example: Keep your pants on, I’m coming!
9. Liar, liar, pants on fire
Meaning: You are definitely lying
Example: Liar, liar, pants on fire, you were at the park!
10. Hot pants
Meaning: Short, tight shorts
Example: She wore hot pants to the party.
11. Too big for your britches
Meaning: Overly self-confident
Example: He’s too big for his britches after the promotion.
12. Beat the pants off
Meaning: Defeat someone easily
Example: Our team beat the pants off theirs.
13. Shake in your boots
Meaning: Be very scared
Example: He was shaking in his boots during the speech.
14. Tighten your belt
Meaning: Spend less money
Example: We need to tighten our belts this month.
15. Under someone’s thumb
Meaning: Controlled by someone
Example: He’s really under her thumb.
16. Kick in the pants
Meaning: A strong stimulus or encouragement
Example: I needed a kick in the pants to get started.
17. Talk the hind legs off a donkey
Meaning: Talk a lot
Example: She can talk the hind legs off a donkey.
18. Roll up your sleeves
Meaning: Get ready to work hard
Example: Let’s roll up our sleeves and finish this.
19. On a shoestring
Meaning: With very little money
Example: They started the business on a shoestring.
20. Pull up your socks
Meaning: Improve your performance
Example: You’ll need to pull up your socks to pass this class.
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