English

Phrase

the pants off (someone)

1. (idiomatic) An intensifier used with some transitive action verbs to indicate that the action is performed with thoroughness, vigor, or complete success.
   • 1937 April 5, "Miscellany," Time:

     "And did you also feel like you could whip the pants off any mother's son alive?"

   • 1943 Dec. 13, "The Press: Scooped Again," Time:

     Reuters had scooped the pants off the U.S. press.

   • 1996 June 3, John Greenwald et al., "Magellan's New Direction," Time:

     Jeffrey Vinik, manager of the $56 billion Fidelity Magellan Fund, the world's largest and most closely watched mutual fund, "beat the pants off the managers of other large funds," in the words of one analyst.

   • 2001 March 16, Christopher Redman Bodelva, "Feast of Eden," Time:

     The Eden Project is his medium for getting that message across to the masses without boring the pants off them.

   • 2001 Sept. 7, Richard Corliss, "That Old Feeling: Brooks to Broadway: Get Happy," Time:

     "Not many people know it, but the Fuhrer was a terrific dancer. He could dance the pants off Churchhill."

   • 2004 April 12, Chris Taylor, "Video Games: You Ought to Be in Pixels," Time:

     "Doom 3 is just going to terrify the pants off people," says Rob Smith, editor of PC Gamer magazine.

   • 2006 June 25, Richard Lacayo, "The Making of America — Theodore Roosevelt," Time:

     Roosevelt not only remade America, but he also charmed the pants off everybody while he did it.

   • 2010 March 29, Michael Schuman, "What Japan's Years of Paralysis Teach America," Time:

     Those of us old enough will also recall that Japan used to scare the pants off Americans and just about everyone else.

Derived terms

• beat the pants off