[ti:Don't Be Caught With Your Pants Down] [ar:Anna Matteo] [al:Words and Their Stories] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]Now, the VOA Learning English program, Words and Their Stories. [00:11.09]Have you ever considered all the English expressions [00:15.47]that include words about clothes? [00:18.61]Let's hear Faith Lapidus name a few off the cuff, [00:23.76]or without any preparation. [00:26.20]People wear pants to cover the lower part of their bodies. [00:32.78]We sometimes say that people who are restless or nervous have ants in their pants. [00:41.13]They might also fly by the seat of their pants. [00:45.94]They use their natural sense to do something instead of their learned knowledge. [00:53.53]Sometimes, people may get caught with their pants down. [00:59.00]They are found doing something they should not be doing. [01:04.02]And, in every family, one person takes control. [01:09.42]Sometimes a wife tells her husband what to do. [01:14.51]Then we say she wears the pants in the family. [01:19.22]Pants usually have pockets to hold things. [01:25.35]Money that is likely to be spent quickly can burn a hole in your pocket. [01:33.31]Sometimes you need a belt to hold up your pants. [01:38.12]If you have less money than usual, you may have to tighten your belt. [01:44.58]You may have to live on less money and spend your money carefully. [01:51.06]But once you have succeeded in budgeting your money, [01:55.82]you will have that skill under your belt. [01:59.08]I always praise people who can save their money and not spend too much. [02:06.73]I really take my hat off to them. [02:10.31]Yet, when it comes to my own money, [02:14.56]I spend it at the drop of a hat ¨C immediately, [02:19.30]without waiting. And sadly, you cannot pull money out of a hat. [02:25.69]You cannot get money by inventing or imagining it. [02:30.85]Boots are a heavy or strong shoes. [02:35.39]People who are too big for their boots [02:39.04]think they are more important than they really are. [02:43.08]I dislike such people. I really do. [02:47.36]You can bet your boots on that. [02:50.20]Yet, truly important people are hard to replace. [02:55.13]Rarely can you fill their shoes or replace them with someone equally effective. [03:02.03]My father is an important person. [03:06.01]He runs a big company. He wears a suit and tie [03:11.24]and a shirt with sleeves that cover his arms. [03:15.09]Some people who do not know him well think he is too firm and severe. [03:22.33]They think he is a real stuffed shirt. [03:26.42]But I know that my father wears his heart on his sleeve. [03:31.84]He shows his feelings openly. [03:34.88]And, he knows how to keep his shirt on. [03:38.88]He says calm and never gets angry or too excited. [03:43.99]Also, my father has never lost his shirt in a business deal. [03:50.67]He is too smart to lose all or most of his money. [03:55.69]This is because my father rolls up his sleeves and prepares to work hard. [04:02.40]He often has a special plan or answer to a problem that he can use if he needs it. [04:10.58]He is like a person who does magic tricks. [04:14.37]We say he has a card up his sleeve. [04:18.21]This VOA Learning English program, Words and Their Stories, [04:23.22]was written by Jill Moss and presented by Faith Lapidus. [04:27.78]We leave you with this Nancy Sinatra ¨C [04:31.40]yes, that's right, Frank Sinatra's daughter ¨C [04:34.83]singing "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'." [04:39.37]If you find out a lover has been cheating on you, [04:43.37]you can say to them, "these boots are made for walkin'" as you walk out the door. [04:49.53]I'm Anna Matteo.