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feel one's oats

verb

Etymology

Originally American English, an allusion to the behavior of a horse that has been well fed on oats.

Definitions

  1. To feel energetic or frisky

    To feel energetic or frisky; to behave in a vigorous or bold manner; to feel empowered and important.

    • In fact, precisely as a rash, restive horse is said to feel his oats, so Turkey felt his coat.
    • Next to the officer is a shabby-looking boy, whose seat is by the right jamb of the jail door. Of all boys just old enough to feel their oats, this boy is the most commonplace.
    • The old man feeling his oats, as he leaned with his back against the bar, said to us with a noticeable degree of pride, "Lads, I'm proud of every one of you. Men who will fight to protect my interests has my purse at their command."

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for feel one's oats. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA