pants /pænts/► SEE ALLscare, bore, etc. the pants off sbhave ants in your pantscatch sb with their pants downa kick up the backside(fly) by the seat of your pantswear the trouserswet yourselfwet your pants/knickers ●scare, bore, etc. the ˈpants off sb (informal) scare, bore, etc. sb very much把某人吓坏（或烦死等）◆He would creep up behind people and scare the pants off them. 他常会蹑手蹑脚地走到别人身后，把人吓一大跳。◆He was clearly boring the pants off his audience. 他显然令听众厌烦透顶。●have ants in your pants (informal) be unable to stay still because you are anxious or excited about sth坐立不安；焦躁不安◆Relax and enjoy yourself — you’ve really got ants in your pants about something tonight!放松点儿，好好玩吧。今晚你好像有什么事，坐立不安的！●catch sb with their ˈpants down (BrE alsocatch sb with their ˈtrousers down) (informal) find or trap sb when they are unprepared or not paying attention使突陷窘境；让人措手不及；出其不意；冷不防◆After the devastating attack on its military bases, the country was determined not to be caught with its pants down a second time.军事基地遭受毁灭性袭击之后，该国下决心再不要被人打个措手不及。●a kick up the ˈbackside ( a kick in the ˈpants) (informal) a shock, strong criticism, etc. which encourages sb to do sth or to behave better鞭策；批评◆What he needs is a good kick up the backside. Then he’d do some work.需要训他一通，他才会干活。NOTE Your backside is the part of the body that you sit on. * backside 指臀部。●(fly) by the seat of your ˈpantsact without careful thought and without making a plan in advance, hoping that you will be lucky and successful凭直觉碰运气；无计划地瞎碰◆He made careful plans and then found that everything had changed at the last minute, so in the end he had to fly by the seat of his pants.他制订了周密的计划，可是后来发现在最后一刻一切都发生了变化，最后他只好凭感觉行事。ORIGINThis idiom was first used by pilots to describe flying by using the way the plane felt as a guide to its condition. The seat of your pants is the part of your trousers/pants that you sit on.这个习语最初由飞行员所使用，用以描述飞机根据其状态自行导航进行的飞行。seat of one ’ s pants 指裤子的后裆。●wear the ˈtrousers (BrE) (NAmEwear the ˈpants) (oftendisapproving) (especially of a woman尤指女人) be the partner in a marriage who makes the decisions and tells the other person what to do（在婚姻关系中）处于支配的位置，当家作主◆It’s not difficult to see who wears the trousers in their house!他们家里谁说了算，一眼就能看出来！●ˈwet yourself●wet your ˈpants/ˈknickers (informal) accidentally urinate (= get rid of water from your body) in your underwear尿裤子◆I was laughing so much I almost wet myself!我笑得差点尿了裤子！