keep your shirt on
👕 keep your shirt on
Concrete Meaning
An instruction to stay calm, be patient, and not lose your temper.
💬 Context & Examples
Used in casual, sometimes mildly confrontational settings when someone is getting overly impatient or angry.
- "Just keep your shirt on, I'll have the report finished in five minutes!"
- "Tell the customers to keep their shirts on; the technical issue is being resolved right now."
🧠 Pattern Challenge
Test Yourself
What historical physical action is this metaphor based on?
Show Answer
It refers to the historical act of taking one's shirt off before getting into a physical fistfight; keeping it on means avoiding conflict.