ant

Everyday

1. A very small insect with six legs that lives in large, organised groups called colonies, often in nests under the ground. tree →
2. "Ants in your pants" is a jokey way of saying someone cannot sit still. tree →

In the lessons

In science, ants are insects: three body parts (head, thorax, abdomen), six legs and two antennae. They live in colonies with a queen who lays eggs and worker ants who find food, carry loads many times their own weight and follow scent trails. Some ants bite or sting (fire ants), so look but do not poke ant nests. In stories, the ant is hard-working (the fable "The Ant and the Grasshopper"). Phrases: "ant hill", "ant colony", "worker ant", "queen ant", "ants in your pants".

Examples

• An ant has six legs. tree →
• A long line of ants carried crumbs back to their nest. tree →
• The queen ant lays all the eggs. tree →
• Ants can carry things much heavier than themselves. tree →
• Don't poke the ant hill or they might bite. tree →
• In the story, the ant saved food for the winter. tree →
• We watched ants through a magnifying glass. tree →
• Stop wriggling — you've got ants in your pants! tree →
• He found an ant in it. tree →

Note

Use "an": an ant. Homophone: "ant" and "aunt" sound the same in many American accents (in British English "aunt" sounds like "aren't"). Ants are insects, but spiders are not (spiders have eight legs). In maths problems, count legs: 5 ants have 5 × 6 = 30 legs.

In Jewish tradition

Here it is only part of the word "covenant" broken at the end of a line, where the text means the promise made about the numbers. In Proverbs the ant is a tiny insect that stores food in summer and is held up as a teacher.

Interpretation. The covenant is read as a pledge of silence and care when dealing with these deep secrets. The rabbis read the ant in Proverbs as a lesson in hard work and planning ahead, learned from a small creature without a leader.

Examples

• § H The ten digits and zero — close tliy mouth from speaking and thy heart from thinking, and if tliy heart should leap, let it come back to its place; for concerning this has the coven- ant been made. (Mordell, The Origin of Letters and Numerals according to Sefer Yetzirah (1914)) tree →
• Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise; (Writings PRO.6.6, JPS 1917) tree →
• The ants are a people not strong, yet they provide their food in the summer; (Writings PRO.30.25, JPS 1917) tree →

Note

Use "an": an ant. Homophone: "ant" and "aunt" sound the same in many American accents (in British English "aunt" sounds like "aren't"). Ants are insects, but spiders are not (spiders have eight legs). In maths problems, count legs: 5 ants have 5 × 6 = 30 legs.