Get a grip means to take control of your feelings and stop panicking. It's usually an order: Get a grip! Said to someone else, it sounds sharp and impatient, like stop it, you're exaggerating. Get a grip on something means to take control of it.
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get a grip!; get a grip on yourself; get a grip on + problem/situation
- After the bad news, she cried for a minute, then got a grip and called her manager.
- The new director quickly got a grip on the company's money problems.
- Oh, get a grip — it's a tiny scratch on the car, not a disaster.
What changed
First versionBefore my presentation I was shaking, so I told myself to take myself in hands.
RevisionBefore my presentation I was shaking, so I told myself to get a grip.
Take yourself in hands is a word-for-word translation, and native speakers don't say it. In English, controlling yourself is described as a firm grip: get a grip.
Calm down is gentler: Calm down, it's going to be OK. Get a grip sounds like a reproach for making a fuss about nothing: Oh, get a grip, it's only a spider! So say calm down to an upset friend, and keep get a grip for yourself.
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Stop shouting and ___ — we can still fix this mistake before the client sees it.
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get a grip — The speaker asks someone to stop shouting and pull themselves together, which is exactly get a grip. Take yourself in hands is a word-for-word translation, and native speakers don't say it.
Describe a moment when you had to pull yourself together. Say what threw you off balance and what you did next.
When I saw how many people had come to the conference, I almost panicked, but I got a grip and started my talk on time.
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