[Ads-l] Word: pantser, seat-of-the-pants, seat-of-the-pantser

[Laurence Horn]

or "pantser" = 'one who pants' (from the transitive verb "to pants", which
I learned in summer camp, not the intransitive "to pant").

Merriam-Webster online, s.v. "pants":

transitive verb <https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/transitive>
US,  informal : to yank down the pants of (someone) as a prank or jokeSandler
plays Dave Buznik, a Brooklyn-born wimp, a patsy, a schlemiel so
mild-mannered he makes other people want to pants him.
No separate entry for the agentive noun, but it's a productive process...
LH

On Tue, Mar 29, 2022 at 11:19 AM Mark Mandel <markamandel at gmail.com> wrote:

> Not to be confused with "Panzer".
>
> MAM
> gdaravvf*
>
> * grin, duck, and run away very very fast
>
> On Tue, Mar 29, 2022, 6:04 AM ADSGarson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com
> >
> wrote:
>
> > The lecturer in a YouTube video I watched recently discussed different
> > strategies for writing novels. A "plotter" creates a detailed outline
> > specifying the characters and story arcs. A "pantser" uses a
> > seat-of-the-pants methodology. The characters, events, and plot are
> > discovered via the writing process.
> >
> > The word "pantser" is listed in neither the Oxford English Dictionary
> > nor Green's Dictionary of Slang. The OED does have this entry:
> >
> > [Begin excerpt]
> > seat-of-the-pants, adj.
> > Of a person: tending to act instinctively, spontaneously, or
> > expediently. Of an activity: done on the basis of practical experience
> > rather than technical knowledge; informal; inexact.
> > [End excerpt]
> >
> > The OED's first citation for "seat-of-the-pants" is dated 1935. Here
> > is a 1932 antedating.
> >
> > Date: July 3, 1932
> > Newspaper: The Atlanta Constitution
> > Newspaper Location: Atlanta, Georgia
> > Article: Teaching the Pilot To Fly Blind
> > Author: Hugh Sexton
> > Section: Sunday Magazine
> > Quote Page 4, Column 1
> > Database: Newspapers.com
> >
> > [Begin excerpt]
> > They all learned to fly, however, by the "seat of the pants" method,
> > as they describe flying by instinct, and are starting all over again
> > to learn the new instrument flying.
> > [End excerpt]
> >
> > The phrase "seat-of-the-pantser" was in circulation by 1959 although
> > the first spelling I encountered used a "z" instead of an "s". The
> > domain was amateur driving at a sports car event:
> >
> > Date: October 28, 1959
> > Newspaper: Oakland Tribune
> > Newspaper Location:
> > Article: Sports Car Events
> > Quote Page 58D, Column 1 and 2
> > Database: Newspapers.com
> >
> > [Begin excerpt]
> > Rally: 1: Buccaneer's Rally. For seniors, novices, Seat-of-the-Pantzers.
> > [End excerpt]
> >
> > The first instance of "pantser" I located appeared in a 1994 book by
> > entrepreneur Jim Schell. Schell created the word via truncation
> > (although earlier instances may exist). He used the word in the
> > business domain:
> >
> > [ref] 1994 (1993 Copyright), The Brass-Tacks Entrepreneur by Jim
> > Schell, Chapter 1: Not Every Small Businessman Is an Entrepreneur,
> > Quote Page 5 and 6, Henry Holt and Company, New York. (Verified with
> > scans) [/ref]
> >
> > [Begin excerpt from page 5]
> > My favorite? Seat-of-the-pantser. The Gospel of Basic Business
> > Strategies According to Matulef: no policy manuals, no precedents, no
> > logical order. As in, straight from the seat of the pants. OK,
> > seat-of-the-pantser is too long, with too many syllables. We'll
> > shorten it to pantser.
> > [End excerpt]
> >
> > [Begin excerpt from page 6]
> > The pantser is an unsophisticated, entry-level small business owner
> > and is not to be confused with the more sophisticated entrepreneur.
> > The pantser's primary business motivations are survival and
> > sustenance, the entrepreneur's creativity and growth.
> > [End excerpt]
> >
> > Garson O'Toole
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org