keep one's hair on en · VERB
Pronunciation
- (Australia) audio
Meanings
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(Ireland, UK, colloquial, idiomatic) To stay calm; to be patient; to calm down.
1965 [Chatto & Windus], Margery Allingham, The Mind Readers, 2016, Penguin Random House (Vintage), page 138, ‘Keep your hair on, I don't see any crime. […] ’
“Oh, nothing, nothing!” “Yes, there’s something. I mean to know!” “Keep your hair on; it’s nothing.” “Out with it!” cried Addie, scarlet with rage. And he flew at Jaap’s throat.
1901, Louis Couperus, translated by Alexander Teixeira de Mattos, Small Souls:“Sorry old chap—keep your hair on—but surely you knew just about everyone was siphoning off the odd bit, here and there?”
2014, Melvin Rea, The Island They Towed Away, AuthorHouse, page 233:All right, all right, just keep your hair on, mate.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| keeps one's hair on | Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres | lexicographic | |
| kept one's hair on | Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| kept one's hair on | Tense=Past | lexicographic | |
| keeping one's hair on | Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic |
Antonyms
get one's knickers in a twist (antonym(s) of “to stay calm”) · get one's bowels in an uproar (antonym(s) of “to stay calm”) · get one's knickers in a knot (antonym(s) of “to stay calm”)
Synonyms
keep one's knickers on (to stay calm) · keep one's wig on (to stay calm) · keep one's pants on (to stay calm) · keep one's shirt on (to stay calm)
Translations (2)
de mach mal halblang (to stay calm) · de halt / halte mal die Luft an (to stay calm)