gets a grip

Verb

get a grip (third-person singular simple present gets a grip, present participle getting a grip, simple past got a grip, past participle (UK) got a grip or (US) gotten a grip)

1. To grip, as in: to take hold of, as with the hand.
   • But the bannock ran […] down the road to the next house, and in and snug by the fireside. The folk were just sitting down to their soup, and the goodwife scraping the pot. "Look," quoth she, "there's a wee bannock come in to warm itself at our fireside."
     "Shut the door," quoth the goodman, "and...1894, Joseph Jacobs, “More English Fairy Tales”, in The Wee Bannock, D. Nutt
2. To attain the understanding of a complex topic.
   • […] the great antiquarian, Duald MacFirbis […], who was able to penetrate and get a grip of the long forgotten language of the ancient law tracts […]1913, Douglas Hyde, “Eugene O'Curry”, in Catholic Encyclopedia, The Encyclopedia Press
3. (idiomatic, imperative) To come to one's senses and become more rational after having experienced a strong emotion.
   • He needs to get a grip if he's getting that angry over such a little thing.