pants-shittingly en · ADV
Pronunciation
- (Australia) audio
Etymology
From the phrase shit one's pants.
Meanings
-
(slang, vulgar) In a manner, or to a degree, capable of causing one to soil oneself in fear; terrifyingly.
As a person who is absolutely terrified of snakes, I think I am perfectly positioned to comment on how terrifying king cobras are. The answer is pants-shittingly.
2012, Danny Vittore, Back the F*ck Up!: Wild Animals That Don't Give a Sh*t!, Krause Publications, →ISBN, page 85:I convinced myself with every passing peaceful moment that things were getting better, that the worst was over. In that, I was pants-shittingly wrong.
2009, David Wong, John Dies at the End, Thomas Dunne Books, →ISBN, page 41:These guys literally tear into the house lurching toward the children with their arms maniacally in front of them — a pants-shittingly scary Night of the Living Dead reprisal that was not only hysterically antigovernment in its portrayal, but really not appropriate for any kind of movie marketed to children.
2011, David Sirota, Back to Our Future: How the 1980s Explains the World We Live in Now -- Our Culture, Our Politics, Our Everything, Ballantine Books, →ISBN, page 86:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| more pants-shittingly | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic | |
| most pants-shittingly | Degree=Sup | lexicographic |