beat the pants off

Idioms  

1. Also, beat hollow. Win decisively over someone, outdo. For example, When it comes to the Patriots' Day parade, Lexington beats the pants off the neighboring towns, or This beer beats the other brands hollow. Both phrases use beat in the sense of “surpass.” Pants off has served as an intensifier since about 1930; the variant dates from about 1775.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

beat the pants off

But if you have the time, a kitchen and a little extra cash, almost any home-cooked meal is going to beat the pants off a fast-food dinner.

From Washington Post ● Sep. 15, 2022

“I believe that was the first time that a deep learning, neural net-based approach beat the pants off more standard approach,” says Ferguson, the former Google engineer.

From The Verge ● May 9, 2018

According to Dr. Lem, “Not only are they cheaper, but they also perform better. Wall Street’s dirty little secret is that index funds beat the pants off almost all actively managed funds.”

From US News ● May 28, 2014

“Frankly, the guy beat the pants off me,” he said.

From New York Times ● Jan. 5, 2013

This sure beat the pants off marketing for day-old meats.

From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan