whoops, there go my trousers

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Jump to navigation Jump to search

English

[edit]

Etymology

[edit]

A reference to a gag in slapstick comedy theatre plays where a character’s trousers fall to the ground, exposing his underwear, to elicit laughs from the audience.

Pronunciation

[edit]
  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈʍʊps ðɛː ˈɡəʊ maɪ ˈtɹaʊzəz/, /ˈʍuːps-/, /ˈwʊps-/
  • (General American) IPA(key): /ˈwʊps ðɛɚ ˈɡoʊ maɪ ˈtɹaʊzɚz/, /ˈʍʊps-/
  • Hyphenation: whoops, there go my trou‧sers
  • Audio (US):(file)

Phrase

[edit]

whoops, there go my trousers

  1. (comedy, theater) Used to describe a genre of farcical theatre plays.
    • 1995 December 29, Chris Wright, “Four Rooms [TV review]”, in The Boston Phoenix, Boston, Mass.: Boston Phoenix, →OCLC, section 3, page 19:
      Four Rooms is the latest attempt to combine multiple directors' skits into one film. It is also an attempt to mix "whoops!-there-go-my-trousers" farce with the slick kitsch pop-art comedy.
    • 1998 June 13, “Carry on up the National”, in Alan Rusbridger, editor, The Guardian, weekend edition, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 10, column 1:
      But what's this? A play about a Carry On film by Terry "Whoops, There Go My Trousers" Johnson, the man responsible for the National's revival of The London Cuckolds, an 18th-century version of Run For Your Wife?
    • 2002, Simon Calder, No Frills: The Truth Behind the Low-cost Revolution in the Skies, London: Virgin Books, →ISBN, page 45:
      The bolts have to be opened and closed in the right combination to avoid scenes worthy of a French farce. But I feel less a character in ‘Whoops! There go my trousers’, and more like something miserable by [Samuel] Beckett or [Franz] Kafka about the meaningless of life, and the fatuity of communication.
    • 2009 January 9, Andrea Mullaney, “TV Review: The Life of Riley, The Green Green Grass, Dexter”, in The Scotsman[1], Edinburgh: Scotsman Publications, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 16 February 2009:
      Instead this relies on the supposedly comical misunderstandings that have been a feature of sitcoms since the 1950s. [...] The children are smart arses, the laughter is canned, the parents befuddled and every line delivered as if they're on stage starring in "Whoops, There Go My Trousers".

Translations

[edit]