cross as a bear



cross as a bear

Grumpy, ill-humored, annoyed, as in Stay away from Claire; she's cross as a bear this morning. Unlike the earlier cross as two stocks, this survives even though the adjective cross for "ill-tempered" is otherwise not used much in America. It is sometimes amplified as cross as a bear with a sore head. [Early 1700s]
See also: bear, cross

Common Names:

NameGenderPronouncedUsage
AdahAY-də (English)Biblical
Bernardbər-NAHRD (English), BUR-nərd (English), ber-NAHR (French), BER-nahrt (Polish, Croatian)English, French, Dutch, Polish, Croatian, Slovene, Czech, Ancient Germanic
Sanem-Turkish
Nikomachos-Ancient Greek
Mattheus-Biblical Latin
CorieKAWR-eeEnglish