spit feathers

Definitions

1. 1

   To feel very thirsty.

   • Where is that sodding drink? I'm spitting feathers.
   • I was just about spitting feathers. My throat was so dry and sore that I could barely feel my own tongue.
   • “I've always liked camomile tea, and I'm spitting feathers after walking all the way over here. Nothing quenches the thirst like camomile tea.”
2. 2

   To feel very angry

   To feel very angry; to sputter angrily.

   • He is high as a kite on Fair Trade espressos and spitting feathers that Ted Nicholls is apparently having some sort of comeback.
   • Yesterday's heresy—the sort of thing that made orthodox theologians spit feathers—becomes today's tourist attraction.

The neighborhood