Slang Files · 🙄 Dismissals & burns

G33Z3R Slang Files · 19841995

Where did "take a chill pill" come from?

Take a chill pill

Means
Calm down
Came from
Chill as relax, from the '70s; the pill was an '80s joke about tranquilizers
Peak
1986–1992
Still around?
Chill survived; the pill mostly didn't

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The file

Chill, meaning relax, is older, but the '80s added a prescription. Take a chill pill was what you said to a friend who was freaking out, and to a teacher only once.

Chill went on to a long career; chill pill stayed in the '80s with the rest of the pharmaceutical jokes.

Sources: Wiktionary — Take a chill pill

Who did you say "Take a chill pill" to? Tell us where and when.

The drive, the dance, the heartbreak, the summer. Add a memory of Take a chill pill.

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