to keep your tits on
- idiom
- Offensive
- If the computer crashes, just keep your tits on and call tech support.
Examples
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Please keep your tits on while I finish my thought.
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Just keep your tits on!
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Keep your tits on, I'll be ready in just a minute.
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The project is under control, so please keep your tits on.
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Keep your tits on, everything is going to be fine, just give me a moment to sort things out.
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When she started to panic about the delay, I told her to keep your tits on and that help was on the way.
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If you feel frustrated during the meeting, just keep your tits on and let the speaker finish.
Synonyms
To stay calm and patient instead of getting angry
Stay calm and be patient
Stay calm and do not become angry or upset
Tell someone or yourself to relax and stop being angry in a rude way
Antonyms
How Calm
- Informal
- Informal
- Offensive
- Informal
Surface Forms
Morphology
While the construction 'keep ... on' can suggest maintaining a state, the literal constituents ('keep' + 'your' + 'tit' + 'on') do not transparently yield the meaning 'stay calm'; this is a vulgar, idiomatic substitution (parallel to 'keep your shirt on') whose intended sense depends on cultural/idiomatic knowledge. A B1 learner who knows the individual words would therefore be unlikely to infer the meaning without prior exposure, though the 'keep ... on' pattern gives a partial clue.
Etymology
Keep your tits on is a ruder version of the older saying keep your shirt on. One popular idea is it imagines telling someone to keep their tits on, not to pull off their clothes, so they do not get too angry or excited, which is why it means 'stay calm'.