(one's) back is up



(one's) back is up

One is angry, hostile, defensive, or irritable, often due to a particular cause. John's back is up now. You shouldn't have brought up the subject of college. It's election season, so my dad's back is up all the time.
See also: back, up

Common Names:

NameGenderPronouncedUsage
Caelestinus-Late Roman
Dyan-English
MercyMUR-seeEnglish
Dickinson['dikinsən]
Abrams['eibrəmz]
EstaES-təEnglish