What it means
Mitts is a cheeky, slightly telling-off way to say hands, usually when someone’s reaching for something they shouldn’t be touching in the first place. You hear it loads in keep your mitts off, where your hands get painted as grabby little things with ideas above their station. It’s playful, familiar, and very at home with kids, mates, and biscuit thieves.
Usage examples
"Oi, keep your mitts off the birthday cake, yeah? Mum’s saving it for tomorrow, and if you nick a slice again you’re dead."
"Get your mitts off the lemon drizzle cake, that is for the church bring-and-buy tomorrow, and Auntie Marge has already counted the slices twice with one eye on the kettle."
"The toddler had his mitts on the remote, the dog was nudging the bin and the cat had decided the lasagne was now hers. Average Saturday afternoon in the lounge."
"Keep your mitts off my chips, you greedy little menace, get your own."
"She had her mitts all over the aux before we’d even left the driveway."
Where it comes from
Mitts comes from mitt, first meaning a mitten or glove. By the 19th century, English had started using mitt as comic slang for a hand, especially in bossy little lines like get your mitts off. The fun of it is that your hands stop sounding elegant and start sounding grabby.
