A quiet notice V2Melody closes at midnight on , Spanish time.

Closes

A note from Richard

V2Melody will close at midnight on 20 January 2028

This site has been a retirement project in musical poetry: poems chosen with care and set to music, offered freely for as long as it felt right to keep the garden open.

The work no longer holds the place it once did in my life. I have gone as far with it as I wish to go. Like a sand mandala, it was made to be completed and then released. I am not attached to its permanence, and I do not believe any of it needs to last beyond the time it was given. The poems were already here before I arrived and began to experiment with them. They will still be here when these musical experiments, and indeed myself, have been swept away, like the sand of a mandala. Nothing has been lost.

I want a simpler end to my life, days of simple love and enjoyment with my wonderful wife of 20 years. The work of maintaining a server, the monitoring, and the residual obligations that come with keeping a site alive no longer fit that life.

From 4 November 2026 I will not be adding new poems or musical poems to the site.

Until midnight on 20 January 2028, Spanish time, everything remains available exactly as it is. That is when my VPS server contract comes to an end, and it will not be renewed. After that, the server will be switched off and the site will disappear.

The Mandala Is Finished explains this more fully.

Thank you to anyone who found a poem, a track, or a quiet moment here.

The pleasure was in the making.

Richard

Home › Glossary › Letter W

Wear the pants

Idiomatic Phrase
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

An idiom meaning to be the dominant or decision-making partner in a relationship, traditionally referencing clothing symbolism to indicate who holds authority or control domestically.

Detailed Definition
Wear the pants means to hold authority or control in a household, relationship, or group. In poetry, the idiom is useful for examining power, gender roles, domestic hierarchy, and social expectation. Because it draws on clothing associated historically with masculine authority, it can reveal assumptions about who is “supposed” to lead. A poet may use it comically, critically, or ironically, especially where private relationships become struggles over dominance, independence, and respect. It invites reflection on power as performance.
Example
Example in poetry:
A comic domestic poem might ask who wears the pants when the tiny grandmother commands the household; In satire, a king may wear the crown while another wears the pants; The phrase means to hold real authority in a relationship or group; A poet can use it for power and humour.
Additional Notes
Wear the pants means hold authority or dominance in a relationship or household. The idiom is gendered and historically tied to clothing as a symbol of power, so students should read it critically. In poetry, it can explore marriage, domestic politics, social expectations, and changing gender roles. It may be comic, sexist, ironic, or subversive depending on voice. It pairs well with wardrobes, trousers, aprons, and household command.
Also Known As
dominant
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