Pull Your Pants Down
What does it mean?
To pull your pants down is an informal phrase used to mean charging someone far too much money, or severely exploiting them in a deal or negotiation. It suggests that the person has been taken advantage of in a very unfair way, especially with prices or contracts.
REAL ENGLISH.
Is it positive or negative?
It is strongly negative — it describes a situation where one person or company has behaved unfairly and the other has been made to pay too much or accept a bad deal.
When do you use it?
Use it in informal conversation when talking about high prices, bad contracts, or situations where someone has clearly been overcharged or treated unfairly in a business or money situation. It’s common in the UK when complaining about bills, repairs, or expensive services.
Examples
Example 1: “That garage completely pulled your pants down with that bill — £500 just to change the brakes is ridiculous.”
Example 2: “Be careful with that estate agent; they’ll try to pull your pants down on the fees if you don’t read the contract properly.”
Question for you
Have you ever felt like a company really pulled your pants down with a price or a contract?
Try saying your answer aloud, using the expression.
Practise it in a lesson
Are you looking for English speaking practice online?
Don’t let confusing contracts and phrases pull your pants down! If you want to understand real, informal English clearly, you’ve found the right website. I offer online English lessons using Teams, Google Meet, and Zoom. My classes are perfect if you need more speaking practice and want to improve fluency, accuracy, and natural vocabulary directly with a British native speaker. You can find out more about lessons here.
Book your first lesson