to get one's back up
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
To be irritated. The allusion is to a cat, which sets its back up when attacked by a dog or other animal.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “to get one's back up” mean?
To be irritated. The allusion is to a cat, which sets its back up when attacked by a dog or other animal.
Is “to get one's back up” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.