being pants (UNCLASSIFIED)

[Chris Waigl]

On 8 Jun 2012, at 07:50, Joel S. Berson wrote:

> At 6/8/2012 11:28 AM, Mullins, Bill AMRDEC wrote:
>> Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
>> Caveats: NONE
>>
>> The email from which I took the quote came from the UK.
>
> But it doesn't quite fit the OED's definition?  I don't see how one
> could replace "(being) pants" with "rubbish', "nonsense", or "crap"
> in the quotation.  The writer is apologizing for not having done
> something, not for having, say, written rubbish.

The writer is apologizing for being crap or rubbish or pants at sending out the newsletter, not at writing. I've always seen these as close synonyms.

Chris Waigl

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