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JCDenton Posted 18 years ago
Vocabulary

cool pants down????

Hi guys,

Can you please help me with sentence from the TV show Flashpoint? I have just seen the fifth episode and I can't wrap my around the underlined sentence...:-((, Can someone please shed some light on it for me? Many thanks in advance...Context: Sam failed in the training where the SWAT team was practising the negotiation with the robber....Greg, head of that SWAT team, was trying to calm him down...

Greg: Look, you can kick ass like nobody's business(nice idiom...[Y]), and you look great in the cool pants, but as long as you're out there, and you're trying to talk to somebody, you've got to be able to listen, you've got to be able to connect.

Sam: I know, okay. It's just...

Greg:how do I connect to bad guys when I spent four years shooting 'em?

Sam: I just need to finish this review.

Greg: No, you need time. Field training, a little patience, okay? Remember, you got the cool pants down.


I'm kinda confused with that red sentence. Did Greg say that "cool pants" is the last thing that will help Sam in the negotiation?

many thanks in advance...

Best Regards

JCD
  

Top answer

He's saying that even if there are things he still needs to learn in his job, he knows how to wear the good looking uniform with style. When you have something down ("have it down pat") it means you have mastered how to do it.

— BarbaraPA

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8 Answers
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He's saying that even if there are things he still needs to learn in his job, he knows how to wear the good looking uniform with style.

When you have something down ("have it down pat") it means you have mastered how to do it.
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Hmm, thanks GG for the answer! But I don't get it. Can you please say that red sentence in the other way? I still can't put your answer in that context...
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Remember = Keepin mind

You've got [whatever] down = You completely know how to do it

cool pants = The pants/trousers part of the uniform. There must be something special about them.

You've got the cool pants down = You know how to wear this uniform and look good doing it.
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Thanks, so If I understood you correctly, the whole point (that's my problem here) of the Greg's last sentence was..."You need time....a little patience, okay? Remember, you just know how to wear this cool uniform, nothing else. Is that correct?

thank you again.

Best Regards

<<edited to fix typo>>
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No, go back to my first post. He's trying to offer encouragement. Be patient, you won't learn it all at once - celebrate your successes so far, like looking good in the cool pants.
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Grammar Geek
....Be patient, you won't learn it all at once - celebrate your successes so far, like looking good in the cool pants.

Thx! I think I got the idea now..:-).

Best Regards and Greetings to Pennsylvania

JCD
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"Cool Pants" is the SWAT end of things. Sam knows the tactical side of the job, but hasn't mastered negotiation.
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Focus on the pants......it's literal...no hidden message....they all look hot in those grey pants...simple as that.
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