what is the modern equivalent of { his back is up } ?
he is offended or angry; an expression or idea taken from a cat; that animal, when angry, always raising its back. An allusion also sometimes used to jeer a crooked man;
So, Sir, I see somebody has offended you, for your back is up.
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Answers · 4
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Anyone who's ever seen a cat, or has even a passing familiarity with them, will know this expression. Not outdated at all. Not even close.
Also, "He has steam coming out of his ears." is waay too strong, and would indicate someone is irate, furious, beyond himself with anger, etc. None of that is covered by the getting one's back up. (If you don't know an expression, James, please defer to someone who does, instead of just making something up.) In fact getting one's back up rarely, if ever, means getting all-out 'angry.' It means 'to become annoyed; to take offense.' Example:
"She got her back up when someone mentioned her family's influence."
It's modern enough, really. There are different ways of saying something similar, of course; like:
"She got all defensive when someone mentioned her family's influence."
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I have never heard this phrase growing up in the US, so at least in American English it is indeed an outdated expression.
A similar expression would be "He has steam coming out of his ears."
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We still understand it in modern English - the expression is not outdated (yet).
"That really gets my back up!" means something has made you angry.
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It just means that you are angry.
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