"Hang In There" Idiom Meaning, Origin & History | Superduper English Idioms
Channel: Superduper English Idioms
Date: 2021-07-01

0:00 - How to Say, “Hang in there!”
0:19 - Examples of “Hang in there!”
1:03 - Meaning of “Hang in there!”
1:20 - Origin of “Hang in there!”
3:48 - More Examples of “Hang in there!”
4:16 - Conclusion

“Hang in there!”

If someone says to you, “Hang in there!” they are trying to motivate you to persevere, keep going, not give up despite the difficulties you are going through.

“Hang in there! The first few weeks at a new job are always the hardest, but you’ll get used to it,” a colleague at your new workplace might be giving you words of motivation.

Maybe you’re trying to learn a new instrument and your music teacher says, “You’ve got to hang in there until you get the hang of it!”

“The race is almost over, hang in there!” spectators might shout at runners during the final leg of a marathon.

As you can see, “hang in there” is a phrase of encouragement, motivation, cheer, which gives the receiver a feeling of invigoration, support, boosting.

The idiom, “hang in there”, exploded in popularity after American photographer, Victor Baldwin, created a poster of one of his cats hanging from a bamboo pole in 1971.

Baldwin also chose to include the phrase, “Hang In There, Baby” on his poster, creating what is arguably the first example of a motivational poster.

Baldwin’s choice of “hang in there” was probably influenced by the phrase, “hang on”, which can be used as a motivational phrase, and has been kicking around for hundreds of years.

Children have a rhyme, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words shall never hurt me,” but in actuality, words can both do a lot of damage and a lot of good.

It’s no wonder that every culture has unique idioms used to encourage others when they are going through rough times, facing challenges or lack the motivation to go on.

In Russian, they encourage each other by saying, “Keep your tail up with a gun!”

“Add oil!” is something you’d hear in Chinese-speaking parts of the world.

In Japanese, you might be told, “You will emerge,” or, “Do your best!”

“You’re number one!” is a heartwarming phrase of encouragement heard in Turkish.

“Keep your eye on the prize, hang in there!” a coach might say to their team during a difficult game.

Perhaps a child at an ice cream parlour is getting impatient, “Hang in there, it’s almost our turn to order.”

“You need to hang in there until you find something better, do it for your family,” your friend might be talking to you about your depressing job.

So, the next time you find someone in a tough, torturous, undesirable situation and you want to give them some encouragement, will to go on, morale, just say, “Hang in there!”

#superduperenglishidioms #englishidioms #idioms #proverbs

References: https://ludwig.guru/blog/the-story-behind-an-idiom-hang-in-there-baby/

https://www.babbel.com/en/magazine/16-colorful-idioms-that-ll-sell-you-on-the-russian-language

https://blogs.transparent.com/japanese/words-of-encouragement-in-japanese/

https://www.turkishclass101.com/turkish-vocabulary-lists/encouraging-phrases/

https://hinative.com/en-US/questions/4219817