Who wears trousers in your family?

Today’s English
April 24th, 2017

Who makes all important decisions in a situation matters, whether it be in a family or business. Is it you or your wife?  Of the two people in relation, the one who makes all the decisions is referred to in English as the person “wears the trousers/pants.”

1.It’s always my wife who wears the trousers in my family.
2.As for as business is concerned, my partner always wears the pants.

If you discover someone unexpectedly in a place especially when they are doing something secretly, you may (carefully!?) try the expression “catch somebody with their trousers/pants down”. This is somewhat equal to “catch someone red-handed".However the former is something happened by chance whereas the latter may be a planned one.

1.I caught Suresh with his pants down when he was copying files from my computer.
2.She caught the boy with his pants down while running away from the orchard.

There is also another expression “to have ants in your pants" that means that you are very much excited or impatient about something.

1.Why do you have ants in your pants? What happened?
2.Just by seeing his face, I understood he had ants in his pants.

N.B. Some people may find these expressions disapproving and impolite. They are likely to result in misconception as well.   Therefore use them cautiously, especially jokingly or informally.

(Salesman: Let me talk to the one who wears pants in your family.

Husband: Of course, everyone here wears pants and who do want to see?

Salesman: ………….?!)