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scare the pants off

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scare the pants off (of) someone

to frighten someone very badly. (Of is usually retained before pronouns.) Wow! You nearly scared the pants off me! The explosion scared the pants off of everyone.

See also: off, pant, scare

scare the pants off you

to frighten you very much Spiders scare the pants off me.

Usage notes: also used with other verbs to emphasize an extreme reaction: Sunbathing bores the pants off me. Hugh always beats the pants off me in tennis.

Related vocabulary: scare the hell out of you

See also: off, pant, scare