{"id":10643,"date":"2022-11-16T22:16:38","date_gmt":"2022-11-16T22:16:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/?p=10643"},"modified":"2022-11-16T22:16:38","modified_gmt":"2022-11-16T22:16:38","slug":"pull-myself-together-meaning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/pull-myself-together-meaning\/","title":{"rendered":"Pull Myself Together \u2013 Meaning, Origin and Usage"},"content":{"rendered":"

Have you been a total mess since your boyfriend or girlfriend broke up with you? A friend might tell you to \u201cpull yourself together<\/strong>\u201d and stop spiraling, words of advice meant to help you move on.<\/p>\n

This post unpacks the origin and meaning of this widely-used idiom and shows you how to incorporate it into your everyday vocabulary.<\/p>\n

Meaning<\/h2>\n

The English idiom \u201cto pull [oneself] together<\/strong>\u201d means to regain control over your emotions and actions and get your life back in order.<\/p>\n

People may advise loved ones to pull themselves together when they react emotionally to turmoil like a breakup, job loss, or the death of a close friend or relative.<\/p>\n

This \u201ctough love\u201d advice lets someone going through a crisis know that their behavior has spiraled out of control.<\/p>\n

Example Usage<\/h2>\n

Would you like to add \u201cpull yourself together\u201d to your vocabulary? Here are some examples of appropriate ways to do that:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • \u201cIt\u2019s been two months since I got laid off from the job I had for 10 years, and I still haven\u2019t started applying for new jobs. It is time to pull myself together<\/strong> and get my life back on track.\u201d<\/li>\n
  • \u201cBro, you can\u2019t just stay in and play video games all day. Pull yourself together<\/strong> and get a job. And move out of mom\u2019s basement!\u201d<\/li>\n
  • \u201cI think you coddle your son too much. You should tell him to pull himself together <\/strong>rather than allow him to destroy his life.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Origin<\/h2>\n

    The idiom \u201cpull yourself together\u201d became popular in the 1950s and \u201860s<\/strong>. While it started in the United States, \u201cpulling yourself together\u201d is common in British English too.<\/p>\n

    There are several theories about how this metaphor originated.<\/p>\n

    One theory holds that \u201cpulling yourself together\u201d is closely related to another famous American idiom, \u201cto pull yourself up by the bootstraps<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n

    No matter how low you have fallen and how hard it is to get back up, the message is you need to pull yourself together through your own hard work.<\/p>\n

    The other theory is that \u201cpulling yourself together\u201d refers to the idea that the soul and body can separate<\/strong>. People in crisis may lose themselves (and their souls).<\/p>\n

    When you say someone needs to pull themselves together, you tell them to metaphorically \u201cfind themselves\u201d again so they can continue living a productive and full life.<\/p>\n

    Either way, someone who needs to pull themselves together finds themselves in a chaotic and bleak situation, often related to grief and loss. The person needs to develop a fighting spirit to fix their life.<\/p>\n

    Phrases Similar to Pull Myself Together<\/h2>\n

    Similar phrases include:<\/p>\n

      \n
    • Being beside yourself<\/strong> \u2014 meaning to have \u201clost\u201d oneself.<\/li>\n
    • Get back on your feet<\/strong> \u2014 a metaphor indicating that you need to get back up after falling down.<\/li>\n
    • Get a grip<\/strong> \u2014 return to reality and fix your life.<\/li>\n
    • Pick up the pieces<\/strong> \u2014 figuratively collecting the components of the productive life that has slipped away.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      Phrases Opposite to Pull Myself Together<\/h2>\n

      People who have not pulled themselves together, but need to, may be:<\/p>\n

        \n
      • Falling apart.<\/strong><\/li>\n
      • Lost.<\/strong><\/li>\n
      • Spiraling out of control.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        These concepts all indicate someone whose life is \u201cin pieces<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n

        What Is the Correct Saying?<\/h2>\n

        The correct saying is \u201cpull myself together<\/strong>\u201d or \u201cpull yourself together<\/strong>.\u201d It means you are in crisis and need to gain control over your emotions and actions.<\/p>\n

        Ways People May Say Pull Myself Together Incorrectly<\/h2>\n

        The metaphor \u201cpull yourself together\u201d serves as a warning that someone\u2019s life has fallen apart. You should never use it in situations where you want to comfort someone who has lost something.<\/p>\n

        Acceptable Ways to Phrase Pull Myself Together<\/h2>\n

        You might say, \u201cI need to pull myself together<\/strong>,\u201d if you know you haven\u2019t been performing well recently and promise to fix that.<\/p>\n

        You can also tell someone else to \u201cpull yourself together\u201d if you think they have felt sorry for themselves long enough and need to move on.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        Have you been a total mess since your boyfriend or girlfriend broke up with you? A friend might tell you to \u201cpull yourself together\u201d and stop spiraling, words of advice meant to help you move on. This post unpacks the origin and meaning of this widely-used idiom and shows you how to incorporate it into […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10643"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10643"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10643\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10645,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10643\/revisions\/10645"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10643"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10643"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10643"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}