pants role
A theatre and opera term for a role in which a woman plays a male character — named after the trousers she wears to pass as a man onstage.
Definitions
A theatre and opera term for a role in which a woman plays a male character — named after the trousers she wears to pass as a man onstage. Pants roles were common in Baroque opera and are still a staple of productions where a mezzo-soprano or contralto plays a young man. Think Cherubino in 'The Marriage of Figaro' or Octavian in 'Der Rosenkavalier.'
She's been cast in a pants role for the spring opera — she plays a young soldier.
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(North America, theatre) A breeches role.
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Semantically related
- dame62%
(Britain, theater) In traditional pantomime: a melodramatic female often played by a man in drag.
- pantsu58%
A Japanese loanword used in ACG (anime, comics, games) communities and internet slang to mean panties or underpants — specifically women's underwear in the context of anime and manga fan culture. The word is a Japanese phonetic borrowing of the English 'pants' (in British English, underwear). In fandom contexts, it carries playful or titillating connotations associated with fanservice tropes in anime. Widely recognised among Western anime fans and used in fan discussions, fan art captions, and memes.
- pants man57%
Australian slang for a man who is sexually promiscuous or always on the lookout for sexual encounters — essentially a man whose trousers are never on for long. It's a blunt, slightly comedic label used in Australian vernacular, neither fully complimentary nor always harsh. The phrasing does the work without having to say much.
- pants man56%
(Australia, slang) A promiscuous male.