Oh the Weather Outside is . . . Weather

My favorite travel companion was in town last weekend so we did what we do best: hopped a bus for somewhere distant and got ourselves proper lost. Living in Oxford, that "somewhere distant" is usually and most easily London. So, we found ourselves strolling along St. James' Park on Saturday afternoon with the idea to take in the sights.

Before we left, I received an email from a friend who wished me a good weekend. "The weather's meant to be pants!"

This caused somewhat of a dilemma. How, exactly, does one dress for "pants"?

Crucially--and this is one of the first things they tell Americans as we get off the plane--"pants" means something very different in our separate versions of English. What we call "pants", they call "trousers". If you talk about your pants, you are being *ahem* possibly a bit *ahem* rude.

This makes idioms such as "flying by the seat of your pants" famously, famously inappropriate.

However much we debated, we had no idea what "pants" weather would look like. As a matter of fact, I still don't know. Saturday afternoon was absolutely gorgeous.

The gate of Buckingham Palace

Westminster Abbey

Sunday, on the other hand, was so grey and rainy that we spent the afternoon watching rugby in a pub.

So, which of these weather systems was "pants"? I don't know. Given my poor track record with the word, I'm not likely to adopt that particular bit of slang. I'm not keen to see what would happen if I walked into class complaining (or bragging), "I just feel pants today!"