have ants in one\'s pants

[ant] Origin

ant

[ant]
noun
1.
any of numerous black, red, brown, or yellow social insects of the family Formicidae, of worldwide distribution especially in warm climates, having a large head with inner jaws for chewing and outer jaws for carrying and digging, and living in highly organized colonies containing wingless female workers, a winged queen, and, during breeding seasons, winged males, some species being noted for engaging in warfare, slavemaking, or the cultivation of food sources.
2.
have ants in one's pants, Slang. to be impatient or eager to act or speak.

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Have ants in one's pants is always a great word to know.
So is ninnyhammer. Does it mean:
a fool or simpleton; ninny.
a chattering or flighty, light-headed person.

Origin:
before 1000; Middle English am(e)te, em(e)te, Old English ǣmette; cognate with Middle Low German āmete, ēm(e)te, Middle Dutch amete, Old High German āmeiza (ā- a-3 + meizan to beat, cut, cognate with Albanian mih (he) digs), German Ameise. See emmet, mite1

ant·like, adjective

ant, aunt.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To have ants in one's pants
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

ant
O.E. æmette, from W.Gmc. *amaitjo (cf. O.H.G. ameiza, Ger. Ameise) from a compound of bases *ai- "off, away" + *mait- "cut." Thus the insect's name is "the biter off." Emmet survived into 20c. as an alternative form. White ant "termite" is from 1729. To have ants in one's pants "be nervous and
EXPAND
fidgety" is from 1939; antsy "agitated, impatient" (1838) embodies the same notion.
"As þycke as ameten crepeþ in an amete hulle" [chronicle of Robert of Gloucester, 1297]
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Slang Dictionary

have ants in (one's) pants definition


  1. tv.
    to be nervous and anxious. (See also antsy. Have got can replace have.) : All kids've got ants in their pants all the time at that age.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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