Anger can also refer to something that causes more anxiety and worry than anger. If the parents of the child you are babysitting are two hours late to return and do not answer the phone, it could be a nuisance. They are less upset than worried. (Although, to be honest, you`re still a little upset). Rabecque cursed with anger and bitterness, and his anger had two completely separate sources. Mrs. Chester quickly obeyed, surprised by the mixture of cheerfulness and anger expressed by her husband`s face. Garnache doesn`t have to bother with the fact that only his thoughtless temperament had now caused his ruin. He scratched his head angrily, sat down, and saw that his coat was also hanging from the chair. Anger is both something that causes anger and the state of mind that results from being annoyed.

The candidate next to you typing on her pencil is a nuisance. When you break her pencil in half, she feels angry. He stomped his foot on the ground angrily and returned to his original determination. Irish, Indian, Dutch (American), all these words are used to mean anger or exhilarating temperament. But to say that you have your «Indian at the top» implies a high degree of vindictiveness, while Dutch anger is stubborn but yields to reason. Find the answers online with Practical English Usage, your essential guide to English language problems. Make [someone`s] goat annoy or irritate him; to upset or frustrate a person. The expression is synonymous with the French take the goat, literally «take the goat». The term, which has been commonly used since World War I, implies someone`s desire for anger or irritability.

Flying feathers To annoy, irritate, annoy; disturb, annoy, agitate. When a bird is threatened or challenged, the feathers on its back and neck are disheveled, that is, straight, in a show of strength and apparent anger. This expression is used figuratively to describe a manifestation of a person`s anger. Make [someone`s] monkey annoy you or provoke you. The reference refers to the irritable and angry temperament of monkeys. Already used in 1863 in the songs opposite Tyne, the expression is originally British and never common in the United States. The dean shook his plumage and said angrily. (Frédéric Farrar, Julian Home, 1859) Get [someone] Hacks Up To Irritate or Annoy; anger, often with pugilistic potential. This expression comes from the sport of cockfighting; Hackles are the long shiny feathers on the neck of some birds such as game. When confronted by his opponent, a savage reacts with a show of force, raising his heels. Over the years, this term and associated dandruff (where dandruff can be a distortion of dandruff, suggesting hair) have been applied to dogs and cats.

When these animals are threatened, their hair on their neck involuntarily stands on the end. Eventually, pictorial use to describe a person became common. Get [someone] back to get angry or provoke. The reference refers to how a cat arches its back when it is angry or threatened. This expression appeared as early as 1728 in The Provok`d Husband by Sir John Vanbrugh and Colley Cibber. Join our community to access the latest language learning and assessment tips from Oxford University Press! «You certainly got my goat,» she said in the picturesque American way, «to tell me that the little no-no was too big.» (H. L. Wilson, Ruggles of Red Gap, 1915) Cross [of someone] bows to annoy, displease, or insult; exceed one`s own limits and behave inappropriately towards another person. This expression has nautical origins. When a ship passes in front of another and crosses its path, the former is said to «cross the breasts» of the latter.

Such a step is considered dangerous and constitutes a violation of traffic rules. The nautical and pictorial meaning is used today. As my heels were now quite high, I crawled and ran the best I could after my injured game. (Clive Phillipps-Wolley, Sport in the Crimea and the Caucasus, 1881) erect the wall to torment or stultify someone to the breaking point; To make someone «crazy» by repeated harassment. This slang expression recalls the image of someone literally climbing the wall of a closed room to escape the source of annoyance. Someone who drove like this is supposed to climb the wall. Let the Dutch rise up to arouse the anger of someone, to get angry; Also get Irish or Indians [from someone]. Although the exact origins of these expressions are unknown, they appear to be references to the alleged hothead nature of the nationalities in question. Barrere and Leland`s Dictionnaire d`argot, de jargon et de cant (1888) offers the following: Get [someone`s] skin dandruff to arouse someone`s anger or temperament. There are two theories about the origin of the theorem.

One hypothesis suggests that dandruff comes from dandruff «the crust of the scalp». Another theory is based on the importance of dandruff as a ferment used in the production of molasses in the West Indies. In a broader sense, fermentation means «agitation or tumult.» So when you disturb someone`s hair, you provoke and excite them. This expression dates back to at least 1831, when it appeared in H. J. Finn`s American Comic Annual. Find out which words work together and create more natural English with the Oxford Collocations Dictionary app.