be caught with pants/trousers down: o que isso significa?

Just imagine yourself doing something you would never want other people to know or see. Just take a look at the literal meaning of this expression: to be caught with pants down. What's the situation where you might be caught with your pants down? That's right: while having sex. So if someone unexpectedly walks in on you having sex, you can say you've been literally caught with your pants down. But there's more to that expression. It doesn't only refer to such embarrassing moments. It can refer to any situation where you're doing something that's normally private and hidden.

So imagine you're a very jealous wife looking through your husband's stuff for something suspicious. You have the habit of doing that whenever your husband isn't around. One day, while you are checking his wallet and going through his messages, your husband catches you with your pants down. So he asks you what you're doing and you have no idea what to say because you're not prepared for that question. So once again you're caught with your pants down. Notice that the expression can also be used for the moments where you're asked to say something you're not prepared for. So imagine you day you get home very late from a party and your wife is waiting up at the door. She fills you with a lot of questions you're not prepared for, and you're totally caught with your pants down. Take a look at these other examples with the expression:

• Apparently he was caught with his pants down. His wife came home to find him in bed with the neighbour.
• He asked me where I'd been the previous evening and I was caught with my trousers down.
• Some council members were using tax money as their own. But the press caught them with their pants down and now the district attorney will press charges.
• My job was to get as much information as possible so that my boss would not be caught with her pants down.