Meaning
Caught unexpectedly while unprepared, exposed or in an embarrassing or compromising situation. The expression is informal.
Origin
The figurative expression is American English. The earliest printed instance currently identified by Word Histories is from a Kansas newspaper in 1886, followed by clearly figurative examples in 1894 and the later 1890s. The lowered-clothing image readily suggests embarrassment, vulnerability and restricted movement, but the documentary record does not connect the idiom to a particular lavatory mishap, soldier, sexual scandal or ancient event. 'Caught with your trousers down' is the usual British lexical variant.
Research Sources
References used to check this entry’s meaning, history, or documented forms.
Variants
- Catch someone with their pants down
- Catch someone with their trousers down
- Caught with your trousers down
Usage Examples
- The sudden audit caught the department with its pants down and several receipts still missing.
- A question about the undisclosed donation caught the candidate with his pants down.
- Keep an offline backup so a network failure does not catch us with our pants down again.