hissy fit
photo credit: "167/366 ~ sometimes I just want to throw a temper tantrum" by jill, jellidonut... whatever (CC BY-SA 2.0) Definition: (noun) an outburst of anger
Example: When the caviar didn't arrive in her dressing room before the show, the opera star threw a hissy fit and refused to go on stage.
Quote:
"The Star just ran a story that I had a diva hissy fit in the airport when I left my $19,000 platinum phone at the hotel and sent a limo back for it. A bunch a radio stations picked it up. It's crazy when they feel it's okay to make up stuff about you."
Actually, losing a platinum phone would be a good reason to have a hissy
fit, but Knowles says she doesn't have one. Generally, hissy fits
are considered childish and are therefore reserved for divas and children.
We rarely use the expression about men, because it comes from the word
hysteria (a psychological illness), which comes from hustera, the Latin
word for womb. Back in the day, it was believed that women had mental
problems because of their wombs, whereas we now know that most of women's
problems come from spending too much time around men.
A couple of nice synonyms for hissy fit are conniption fit (a
favorite of my mother's) and snit fit. All three of these terms
can be used without fit.
A. C. Kemp | February 20, 2003
