Pants这个单词在英国和美国的意思有一丢丢区别，如果你在英国对着别人说“Wow, nice pants!”对方可能会很吃惊，如果他还是暴脾气的话，你甚至会挨削，因为在英国，pants是underpants或者knickers的意思，而在美语里，它就是trousers。所以千万别走在英国的大街上夸赞别人的内裤哦!

　　虽然pants在英美意思稍有差别，不过由pants构成的习语，无论在哪里你都应该知晓它们的意思，因为idioms的特点就是不能从字面意思理解，以后听到别人说起下面的习语，千万不要认为大家在聊你的裤子哦!

　　1. keep your pants on = to relax, to remain calm, to not get agitated or excited 不要理解成“穿好你的裤子”，而是叫你放轻松，别紧张别激动。

　　比如办公楼的fire alarm响了，不淡定的同事可能会大喊“Oh my God! Oh no! What are we supposed to do? Is there a fire? Where is the exit?”此时你就可以说：“Keep your pants on! Stay calm! I will show you the exit.”

　　再比如两个学生讨论第二天的final exam，一位半裸考的孩子说“What am I going to do? I haven't studied for the exam enough. I'm going to fail! My parents will stop sending money. I'll have to quit school.”此时你可以安慰他：“Relax! Keep your pants on! I have a great set of study notes and flash cards. We can drink lots of coffee and stay up all night and cram for the exam. You'll be fine!”

　　2. a kick in the pants = a strong message of encouragement or demand 这个动作可没有“踢裤裆”那么狠毒哦，只是鼓励或要求罢了。

　　比如两位同事在闲聊业绩表现，A问B：“How did your mid-year performance review go this morning?”B向A抱怨：“Not well. The boss told me that I was under performing and was not using my potential to its fullest. He told me I’d better improve or risk losing my job. A则鼓励B：“I agree with him. You needed a kick in the pants for motivation.”

　　再比如一位母亲对着儿子大喊：“Get your lazy butt out of that bed and clean your room. There is no need to live in a disaster area. If you want your allowance, you also need to do your chores. Let's go! Now!”父亲认为这样讲话有点儿harsh， 母亲则认为sometimes her son needs a kick in the pants to get up and get moving.

　　3. scare the pants off someone = to frighten someone a great deal这个不太容易理解跑偏，就是“吓尿了”嘛。

　　比如两个人在聊占卜板，A问B：“Do you really think that the spirits communicate with us through the board?”B认为光是这个想法就能把他吓个半死，于是他就可以说：“Just the thought of it scares the pants off me.”

　　4. wear the pants = to be the person in a relationship who is in control and makes all the decisions 如果别人问你“你家谁穿裤子”，这回应该知道什么意思了吧!

　　比如两个人在聊聚会事宜，A问B：“Hey, are you and Martha coming over Friday night?”B可能是个妻管严，他便回答“I'm not sure. I have to check with Martha. She makes all the decisions.”A就可以说“Good to know who wears the pants in your relationship.”

　　5. have ants in your pants = to be very excited or impatient about something and unable to stay still 想象一下你的裤子里有蚂蚁，这个感觉就不言而喻了。

　　比如你在餐厅点了菜，但是等了好久菜都没端上桌，你就可以问服务员：“What happened to my order? I’ve been waiting for so long and I’m really getting ants in my pants.”

　　大家还知道有哪些关于pants的idioms，跟我们分享一下吧!

　　教师简介：

　　朱博，新东方口语讲师，毕业于985院校大连理工大学，硕士保送一等奖学金。在校期间曾游学美国，任出版社英语出版中心校对四年，工作严谨，活泼开朗，让大家快乐的学习英语。

　　版权声明：本文系新东方网独家稿件，版权为新东方网所有。转载须注明来源及作者，否则必将追究法律责任。

（编辑：何莹莹）