Get your dander up

Definitions

• anger or provoke someone
  To intentionally or unintentionally irritate or annoy someone, causing them to become angry or agitated.

• become excited or worked up
  To become overly enthusiastic or passionate about something, often resulting in a heightened state of agitation or excitement.

Examples of Get your dander up

• Sarah's boss criticized her work repeatedly, making her feel insulted and defensive. She stormed out of the meeting, muttering to herself, "I'm not going to take this anymore. It's time to get my dander up and fight back!"

  The idiom "get your dander up" means to become angry or resentful in response to a perceived insult or provocation. In Sarah's case, her boss's persistent criticism had provoked her enough to make her want to defend herself and stand up for herself. The phrase "fight back" emphasizes the idea that Sarah is not going to let her boss's criticism go unchallenged.

• John's boss criticized his work performance in front of the entire team, causing John to get his dander up.

  "Get your dander up" is a figurative expression that means to become angry or defensive. In this example, John's boss's criticism caused John to feel angry and defensive, which is represented by the phrase "got his dander up."

• The opposition party's inflammatory statements in the media have gotten them in trouble with the voters and caused many people to get their dander up.

  Again, "get your dander up" is used to convey the idea of becoming angry or defensive in response to a perceived threat or provocation. In this case, the opposition party's statements have provoked a lot of negative sentiment among voters, causing them to get angry and defensive.

• The coach's harsh words during practice got the players' dander up, which helped them to play more aggressively in the game.

  This example shows how "get your dander up" can be used as a motivational tool. The coach's harsh words during practice helped to get the players angry and defensive, which in turn helped them to play more aggressively during the game.

• The author's scathing review of the book got the author's dander up, leading to a heated response from the author's publisher.

  Here, "get your dander up" is used to convey the idea of becoming defensive or angry in response to a perceived attack or criticism. The author's publisher was forced to defend the author's work in response to the negative review, which is represented by the phrase "got his dander up."

Conclusion

The idiom "get your dander up" can be used in various contexts to convey the idea of causing someone to become angry or worked up. It can be used in a more literal sense to describe provoking someone, or in a more figurative sense to describe becoming overly excited or agitated.

Origin of "Get your dander up"

The phrase "get your dander up" is believed to have originated in the 19th century in America. It is derived from the word "dander," which refers to the tiny particles of dead skin that can be found in animals' fur or feathers. In the context of the idiom, "dander" is used to represent one's temper or anger, and "get up" refers to the idea of stirring or causing something to become active.

Another theory suggests that the phrase may have originated from the practice of cockfighting, where a rooster's feathers would become ruffled or "up" when it was agitated or ready to fight. This could also explain the use of "dander," as the feathers of a rooster would contain dander.

Overall, the origin of the idiom is not entirely clear, but it is believed to have come from American slang and has been in use since the 1800s. It has since become a popular phrase in English, used to convey the idea of provoking or exciting someone.