• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Zippy Facts Logo

Zippy Facts

Interesting Random Facts

  • Animals
  • Culture
  • Firsts
  • Food
  • Geography
  • Health
  • History
  • Inventions
  • Language
  • Mythology
  • Odds
  • People
  • Religion
  • Science
  • Space
  • Universe
  • World
You are here: Home / Language / Where does the expression “to keep one’s hair on” come from and What does it mean?

Where does the expression “to keep one’s hair on” come from and What does it mean?

May 14, 2020 by Karen Hill

The expression “to keep one’s hair on” means: To restrain one’s temper; to remain calm and serene, unruffled despite provocation.

This was popular American slang of less than a century ago.

In fact, the earliest literary example appears to have been in Dr. Claudius, one of the first pieces of fiction written by Francis Marion Crawford.

As with most slang, a positive source of the expression cannot be determined. However, it could have reflected the Indian raids upon isolated homesteaders that were still taking place in some of the western territories.

Settlers and wagoners who could remain unexcited in the face of any such raid were the most likely to be able to fight off a threatening horde and thus to retain their scalps.

This is, of course, conjecture.

Neither Crawford nor other writers of that period, the early 1880’s, left any clue that would suggest the source.

Related Facts

  • Why Does Humidity Make Some Hair Curly and Some Hair Straight and What Causes a Bad Hair day?
  • What Causes Hair To Turn Gray, Does Stress Cause Hair To Turn Gray, and How Does Hair Turn Gray Overnight?
  • Which Explorers First Explored the Continents of the World?
  • Top 25 Inventions That Changed the World
  • What does the expression “not to turn a hair” mean and Where does it come from?
  • The Best 20 Inventions Ever Invented

Filed Under: Language

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

Previous Post: « What does the phrase “in the lap (or on the knees) of the gods” mean and Where does it originate?
Next Post: What does the phrase “Paul Pry” mean and Where does it come from? »

Footer

Follow

  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • GitHub
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Medium
  • Pinterest
  • StumbleUpon
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Categories

Accomplishments Animals Culture Firsts Food Geography Health History Inventions Language Mythology Odds People Religion Science Space Universe World Your Body

About

Zippy Facts empowers the world by serving educational content that is accessible to everyone.

A tribute to growing up, zippyfacts.com showcases interesting and unusual facts about the world.

Our mission is to use technology to facilitate knowledge transfer and sharing.

Copyright © 2020 Zippy Facts

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy