The idiom “let your hair down” means to relax and let go of inhibitions. It originated from a time when women could only let their hair down in private. It refers to relaxing social rules, not calming situations. Friends can use it to encourage someone to loosen up. It is sometimes used incorrectly to mean changing clothes.
The phrase “let your hair down” is a figure of speech that means to relax or let go of inhibitions. Most language experts agree that the idiom dates from a time when it was only appropriate for women to wear their hair up in public. They were only allowed to let their hair down naturally when they were alone, either during a bath or at bedtime. Loosening one’s hair, at the time, was reserved for times when relaxing and behaving less appropriately were acceptable.
Most of the time, the idiom isn’t meant to mean “relaxing” as in calming, calming, or otherwise stress-relieving situations like sitting quietly reading a book or getting a massage. Instead, it more accurately refers to relaxing social rules and letting go of inhibitions that would normally keep a person’s behavior in check. For example, it would be a fair use of the idiom to say that, midway through a party, you loosened up and danced to a few songs, when before you were too embarrassed to try. It would be a misuse of the phrase if you were to let your hair down by slipping into the corner of the room and listening to some soothing music to ease your anxiety and build your confidence.
Friends can often advise their peers to relax and stop worrying so much about what other people think. In the example of an anxious individual who is too afraid to dance at a party, a friend might get him to let go of any inhibitions by saying, “Come on, we’re at a big party, let loose a little. Everyone else is dancing too and they won’t notice if you screw up.”
Sometimes, the idiom is used somewhat incorrectly to mean dressing up, or changing from formal to informal clothing as opposed to social attitudes and behaviors. An individual may have a habit of coming home from work and letting their hair down by changing from work clothes to more comfortable clothes, such as a t-shirt and jeans or sweatpants. It’s also possible that, similar to the origin of the idiom, you can literally leave your hair out of its formal style into a more relaxed, natural, and comfortable style. While this isn’t a technically correct use of the phrase, it’s used this way often enough that other people will still understand the meaning.
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