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Reader question: Please explain this headline: Donald Trump’s pants are on fire. My comments: This is not to be taken literally, of course. Donald Trump is one of many Republican candidates running for the next President of the United States. His pants, or trousers, have not caught fire or anything of that nature. Instead, he’s been caught lying, like, repeatedly. Like, non-stop, bare-faced and bold, blatant, shamelessly etc. Let’s focus on “pants on fire”, though, and see how one’s pants catching fire has anything to do with lying through the teeth. “Pants on fire”, in fact, has its root in the rhyme: Liar! Liar! Pants on fire! In this children’s rhyme, children are told that if they tell a lie, their pants will catch fire. This is a just warning against lying, and is similar to calling a liar by the name of Pinocchio, the popular character created by Italian writer Carlo Collodi (1826-90). Pinocchio has a great sense of shame and whenever he tells a piece of untruth, he grows uneasy and his nose grows longer due to that stress. Alluding to Pinocchio, if people catch someone lying, they sometimes say: You’d better watch out. Your nose is getting longer. Or, similarly, they may chant the children’s taunt: Liar! Liar! Your pants are on fire! So you see, to say that Trump’s pants are on fire is merely pointing out that The Donald is at it again, lying through the teeth and seemingly without giving a care. | 
