hang loose, v. — Green’s Dictionary of Slang

hang loose v.

[hang v.⁴ (1) + SE loose/loose adj. (5); note personal corresp. from Paul Kunino Lynch (Sydney, Aus.): ‘Boswell remarks that he had never heard of an occasional contributor to literary journals of the time named F Lewis. Then he overheard Johnson describe him to an acquaintance: “He lived in London and hung loose on society.”’]

(orig. US) to relax, to take things as they come.

[1847		R.F. Walond Paddiana II 238: This is a picture of the young gentlemen who hung loose upon the country, and ready to bestow their tediousness upon any who would receive them].
1955		J. Blake letter 28 Dec. in Joint (1972) 76: Be happy, hang loose, keep the faith.
1968		G. Cuomo Among Thieves 237: You had to settle down if you wanted to make it. You had to hang loose.
1975		J. Wambaugh Choirboys (1976) 237: You two guys just hang loose and wait here.
1981		J. Ellroy Brown’s Requiem 23: You hang loose and don’t worry.
1999		Indep. Rev. 3 Sept. 11: Just enough money to live fast and hang loose.
2001		J. Baker Shooting In The Dark (2002) 107: You want us to hang loose and not get so uptight and everything, then as soon as we relax you start taking the piss.