The shirt has been a common piece of clothing for men and women for a GREat many centuries. Some of the expressions made from the word are as old, and as common, as the shirt itself.
“Keep your shirt on” that sounds like good advice for anyone; especially on a cold day. But the expression “keep your shirt on” gives a very different kind of advice.
It means stay calm, do not get excited. Or, it can mean slow down, do not be in such a hurry. The meaning depends on the situation.
Americans began using the expression about one hundred fifty years ago. Back then，men often fought with their fists over a women, or money owed from playing cards, or almost anything. Before the men would fight, they almost always would remove their shirts. The expression, “keep your shirt on” was advice to stay calm. It was a way of trying to stop the fight.
You may say “keep your shirt on” to someone who is getting angry with you. Or, you may say it to someone who is in a terrible hurry.
许多世纪以来，衬衫一直是男女都穿的一种普通衣裳。由“衬衫”组成的词语中有一些也跟衬衫一样古老，一样普遍。
“别脱掉衬衫”这句话听起来像是人人适用的忠告，尤其是在天冷的时侯。其实“别脱掉衬衫”这句话所告诫的内容远非如此。
这句话的含义是：保持镇静，不要激动。它也可以指：慢一些，不要急急忙忙。到底指什么，要看情况而定。
美国人是在大约一百五十年前开始使用这一词语的。在那时，男人们常常为了女人，或是为了赌债，或是为了任何芝麻大的事而挥拳对殴。打架之前，他们差不多总是先把衬衫脱掉。因此，“别脱掉衬衫”这句话当时就是劝人保持镇静的。这是一种试图制止打架的方法。
如果有人对你发火，你可以对他说：“别脱掉衬衫”。你也可以对一个手忙脚乱的人说这句话。
