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"piss and vinegar"

Posted by Smokey Stover on July 31, 2005

In Reply to: "Piss and vinegar" posted by Mollie on July 29, 2005

: A phrase is in the archives as "piss and vinegar" is one that I know as "pith and vinegar." The archived discussion on this didn't come to any conclusions. I'm wondering if this is due to the change from pith to piss. As far as I can tell, the meanings of the phrases are the same. Does anyone know about the relationship between the two phrases and what the origin could possible be?

The OED says nothing about any "pith and vinegar." What it says about the other is: "piss and vinegar, energy, aggression; also attrib. [First citation:] 1942 BERREY & VAN DEN BARK Amer. Thes. Slang 240/2 Animation; spirit; vim,..piss and vinegar." SS

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