"brim for a fight"

Doug Harris cats22 at FRONTIERNET.NET
Tue Apr 17 04:05:08 UTC 2007


Whad'Ya Know?, a quiz-show production of Public Radio International (PRI),
every week has a contestant read four disclaimers, the last of which notes
that anyone not agreeing with [whatever] "is itching for a fight".
--
I've heard that version before (elsewhere), but not the brimming
formulation. But I'm neither brimming nor itching for a disagreement with
JL.
(the other) doug


---------------------------------------

OED doesn't include this idiom, which I've long been familiar with:

  2006 Harry S. Stout _Upon the Altar of the Nation_ (N.Y.: Viking) 28:
Northern and Southern states rushed to fill their quotas with volunteers
brimming for a fight.

  Just which earlier meaning of _brim_ is involved here is an interesting
question.

  JL

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org



More information about the Ads-l mailing list