Etymology Journal ยท K
Keep your shirt on
Meaning
- A command to stop being impatient or angry. It is a lighthearted, slightly condescending way to ask someone to calm down.
Casual, impatient
Used in a sentence
- Keep your shirt on, I am coming as fast as I can.
- Just keep your shirt on and wait for the signal.
- He yelled to keep his shirt on when the crowd started booing.
The backstory
This dates back to the 19th century. It implies that if someone is angry enough to fight, they would remove their shirt, so keeping it on signifies a peaceful state.
Heard in
Nationwide
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