pull oneself together

English

Pronunciation

• Audio (AU):

  (file)

Verb

pull oneself together

1. (idiomatic, reflexive) To become mentally focused after a period of being unfocused.
   • 1910, E. M. Forster, Howards End, ch. 6:

     "Damn, damn, damnation!" he murmured, together with such other words as he had learnt from older men. Then he raised his hand to his forehead and said, "Oh, damn it all—" which meant something different. He pulled himself together. He drank a little tea, black and silent, that still survived upon an upper shelf. He swallowed some dusty crumbs of cake. Then he went back to the sitting-room, settled himself anew, and began to read a volume of Ruskin.

Translations

to become mentally focused after a period of being unfocused

• Azerbaijani: özünü yığışdırmaq
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 振作起來／振作起来, 振作起来 (zhènzuò qǐlái), 鎮定下來／镇定下来, 镇定下来 (zhèndìng xiàlái)

• Finnish: ryhdistäytyä (fi), koota itsensä
• French: se ressaisir (fr)
• German: sich zusammenreißen (de)
• Japanese: 気を取り直す (きをとりなおす, ki o torinaosu)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Latin: mē recolligō
• Polish: brać się w garść
• Portuguese: recompor-se
• Russian: приходи́ть в себя́ impf (prixodítʹ v sebjá), прийти́ в себя́ (ru) pf (prijtí v sebjá), собира́ться (ru) impf (sobirátʹsja), собра́ться (ru) pf (sobrátʹsja), брать себя́ в ру́ки impf (bratʹ sebjá v rúki), взять себя́ в ру́ки pf (vzjatʹ sebjá v rúki)
• Spanish: recobrar la compostura, recomponerse
• Swedish: samla sig (sv), skärpa sig