cool your jets

Meanings

1. 1phraseidiominformal

   to calm down and stop being angry, excited, or impatient about something.

   Grammar: Used as an imperative or in statements; the possessive changes with the subject: cool your jets, cool his jets, cool their jets.

   Patterns

   • cool your jets
   • tell someone to cool their jets

   Cool your jets — the manager will see you in a minute.

   She told her brother to cool his jets before he said something he would regret.

   You need to cool your jets and think about this calmly.

2. 2phraseidiominformal

   to slow down and stop rushing into something too quickly.

   Grammar: Often used to urge patience when someone is moving or deciding too fast.

   Patterns

   • cool your jets about something
   • cool your jets and wait

   Cool your jets about buying a car; compare a few prices first.

   He was ready to quit his job, but his wife said to cool his jets.

Common combinations

tell someone to cool their jets

The coach told the team to cool their jets after two quick penalties.

need to cool your jets

You really need to cool your jets before this argument gets worse.

cool your jets for a minute

Cool your jets for a minute and let me finish explaining.

time to cool your jets

It's time to cool your jets and stop panicking about the test.

Synonyms and how they differ

calm down

The most neutral choice and works in any register; 'cool your jets' is more informal and often sounds slightly scolding.

chill out

Very informal and can sound dismissive or rude; 'cool your jets' is milder and focuses on impatience or anger.

take it easy

Friendlier and softer, often used as general advice; 'cool your jets' suggests the person is currently too worked up.

Opposites

Commonly confused: cool your jets or cool your heels?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “cool your jets”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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