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Hissy fit

Posted by R. Berg on January 17, 2009 at 17:51

In Reply to: Hissy fit posted by ESC on January 17, 2009 at 14:10:

: : "Hissy fit". Walter Scott in Redgauntlet refers to a character as suffering from a "hissing-hot fit" of the gout. Could this be a predecessor of the modern "hissy fit"?

: Here is what Phrase Finder says: www.phrases.org.uk meanings hissy-fit.html I always thought it came from a mad goose hissing. It could be hissing of water on a hot stove.

Cats and kittens hiss as a warning signal in a dispute over territory. Other animals hiss, too. I once saw an opossum hiss. ~rb

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