A language question I've been thinking of.

[saxikath]

A phrase that I have heard at MIT
(And from some folks who used to hang out there),
But nowhere else: the usage "having pants."
It means to have one's act together, or
Approximately that. It varies some;
They speak of "finding pants" or wanting for
Some other person to go find their pants.
Does this phrase happen elsewhere? Is it just
An MITish usage, nothing more?
And where did this odd phrase develop from?

Comments

[jeffurrynpl.livejournal.com]

I was at MIT from 1988-1993 and I've never heard that expression before! Strange!

[badoingdoing.livejournal.com]

As far as I know, it's mostly an MITish usage.

I'm not totally sure where it came from, but I think it has something to do with being "caught with your pants down" as an idiom for "unprepared."

I find it to be a useful phrase, and generally intuitively understood outside MIT contexts pretty well.

[chenoameg.livejournal.com]

A thought that I have passing on this score --
an idol recollection, nothing more --
the web comic for geeks called Sluggy Freelance
Contains a lot of talk of finding pants

[navrins]

It's relatively new to me, in fact.
I've heard it from MITGASP and such type folks,
But never anyone of my own age.

[530nm330hz.livejournal.com]

For what it's worth, in my days at the 'Tute
I never heard the phrase you cite above.

[desireearmfeldt]

Yes, it's lately in fashion at MIT (I think of it as being an assssins' guild thing, but apparently it's more widespread than that) -- only in the past few years, certainly not as far back as my undergrad years. (There are particular people I think of having spread the expression, or at least, saying it a lot.)

And I feel like it did evolve from the negative: not having pants = being disorganized/unprepared.

I don't keep up with SLuggy Freelance, but it'd make sense to have come from there.

"I cannot teach him. The boy has no pants"

[chenoameg.livejournal.com]

A friend who posts as firstfrost says the same.
She offers quotes and google gives me more
"I find your lack of pants disturbing"'s there:
http://chavelaque.blogspot.com/2005/08/lines-from-star-wars-that-can-be.html

[cazique.livejournal.com]

Alas, that phrase (and usage) are brand-new
To me.

(Though I can't help but add, your choice
Of icon for this post is quite spot-on)

[ceo]

I've only heard it here at Permabit, but that kind of doesn't count as a non-MIT context. :-)

[dcltdw]

No blank verse from me, sorry. :)

I believe I was one of the people who popularized it. It's from a Denis Leary routine (No Cure For Cancer), and he's ranting about Ted Kennedy:

"Ted Kennedy. Good senator, but a bad date, knowwhatImean? I mean, one of these guys gets home at 3 o'clock in the morning, saying, 'What did I forget--OH THE F$*&ING GIRL! holy shit! where are my pants?!?'"

And yeah.
Now you see why trying to rephrase Denis Leary into blank verse makes my head go "oww!". :)

[chenoameg.livejournal.com]

Perhaps it's just a phrase whose time has come.
Pants are a funny word in many scenes.

(The Denis Leary quotes don't scare me off!
"A senator who stumbles home to bed
"unsure of who or where or what he said.
"There was f%$ing or groping or kissing;
a recipient of such is missing
and his pants are as lost as his head"

Ok, that's a limerick not blank verse. :-)

[lemurtanis.livejournal.com]

I definitely picked it up from dcltdw and hariyos. The Vader line has a certain mythic appeal, but dcltdw's explanation makes sense.

[chmrr.livejournal.com]

My explanation generally goes along the lines of having gotten out of the house and started to walk down the street before you realize you're not wearing any pants. This shows a lack of control and understanding of the situation at hand. Having pants is often compared and contrasted with having clue -- it is possible to have one but not the other. Having pants but not clue means that you know exactly who to talk to to procure the clue. Having clue but not pants means you know what the right thing to do is, but you lack the gumption to carry it out. I find the distinction often useful.

But I think the origin of the phrase was as dcltdw stated. In fact, I think I may have first heard it from him, but my memory on the topic is fuzzy.

[42itous.livejournal.com]

There is a dorm at Brown called Technology House. In TechHouse's library is a brown plaid sofa named Pants. One year Pants was featured on the TH t-shirt, with the tagline, "Got Pants?"

I wouldn't be surprised if there's no connection, but suddenly I'll be even more proud than usual to wear my t-shirt on campus.

[magickcat.livejournal.com]

Ya know, this was the last entry I took a quick glimpse at before I left for practice, aka somewhat-of-a-dress-rehearsal-inthat-we-make-our-costumes-kinda-sorta, and when I was chasing the lady on the tricycle, I done lost mah pants!

Okay... they were shorts... but they still came off, so I thought of you. :)