The Archive

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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