Where did the idiom ants in your pants come from?

Answer 1

Meaning: extreme restlessness; over-activity

Origin: One can easily imagine where this saying came from. What if you had ants in your pants? You would find it difficult to settle down. You'd keep squirming to get rid of the ants.

Example: "You never sit still. You must have ants in your pants."

Answer 2

If someone has ants in their pants, it means they are excited, agitated or worried and can't keep still.

For example, "She has ants in her pants because she is going to Europe tomorrow." means she is very excited to go to Europe.

"John has ants in his pants because his teacher wanted to speak to his mother." means that John is worried as his teacher is speaking to his mother.

Answer 3

The expression "ants in your pants" appears to be of United States origin, very likely of the southern states, though that is uncertain because by the time that it appeared in print, probably some time between the two world wars, it had already been in wide use in various contexts. It could mean "active", or "restless", or "getting going" or "having a problem", anything suggestive of someone who has sat down among a colony of a stinging, biting species of ant and got them up his trouser legs. He cannot sit still, and he is likely to want to do practically anything in a hurry, even get his pants off, to deal with the problem at once.

The idiom is the source of a nice traditional mnemonic:

to remember whether in caves the stalactites or stalagmites go up or down,

think of ants in pants --

the mites go up and the tights go down.

Answer 4

You will start jumping around or dancing around?

Answer 5

You have ants in your pants.

Answer 6

It means agitated or nervous.

Answer 7

It means agitated or nervous