Chill Out, Man.

It’s the last thing you want to hear when you’re angry. Ever had an argument in public? Your relatively calm friend places a condescending hand on your shoulder, becomes the hero of the scene, and says it. ‘Chill out, man.’ And now all you can think about is that you’re being watched by everyone. You’ve made a scene. What are you going to do? You should probably chill out, man.

There’s no straight answer as to where the phrase ‘Chill out, man’ comes from. If you search it in urbandictionary.com, it’ll tell you to ‘shut up, relax, calm down’, which is brutal, yet honest, and most appropriate for people of our age.
The Cambridge Dictionary says it is ‘to relax completely, or not allow things to upset you’, whereas the Oxford Dictionary says ‘intended to induce or enhance a relaxed mood’, referring to slow, rhythmic music. As far as we can tell, there is no definite meaning to the phrase.

Although ‘Chill out, man’ is used to warn people who may be angry, frustrated, or unhappy, the phrase also has a positive meaning . ‘Chilling out’, in this context, never involves leaving the house, spending money, or putting much effort into something. You can wear those ugly, but always really comfortable tracksuit bottoms, and if you’re female, make-up is out of the question. Chilling out will normally include a mediocre activity such as watching an old film with a couple of drinks, or playing on your games console. You’re there to chill out, man.

'I toad you a little chilling would be good for you.'

Specifically for us at University, ‘Chill out, man’ normally involves panic. Panic that you’re going to be late on handing in that really important piece of work, or panic that you won’t get a good grade for it. You’re walking to the library with a friend, and start listing all the things you need to write, complaining about money, moaning that jobs are impossible, and the rest. Your friend will tell you to ‘Chill out, man’, and you probably should. Relax, and instead of panicking, sort your life out, and tick those things off one by one.

'I'll do it tomorrow.'

It’s a good piece of advice though. Have you ever been told to chill out, and disobeyed the request? It never ends well. It’s a diffusive term, one that can stop that emotional friend of yours throwing the contents of his room around the house, or your competitive friend from throwing an Xbox controller at the television. Are you feeling hot under the collar? Then maybe you should chill out, man.