Etymology Journal ยท D
Don't get your panties in a wad
Meaning
- Stop being so tense, dramatic, or upset. This is a very common way to tell someone to relax when they are making a big deal out of something minor.
Crude, dismissive
Used in a sentence
- Do not get your panties in a wad, it is just a scratch on the bumper.
- I am just joking around, so do not get your panties in a wad.
- She got her panties in a wad because the store was out of her favorite soda.
The backstory
Likely an Americanized, more informal variation of the knickers idiom. It uses the visual of uncomfortable, bunched-up undergarments to represent being agitated.
Heard in
Nationwide
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