Put your back up

What's the meaning of the phrase 'Put your back up'?

Make one angry.

What's the origin of the phrase 'Put your back up'?

This term derives from the habit of cats of arching their backs when threatened or annoyed. It is a British colloquial phrase and came into being in the 18th century. An early example of its use is from Grose’s Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, 1785:

BACK UP. His back is up, i. e. he is offended or angry: an expreffion or idea taken from a cat; that animal, when angry, always raifing its back. An allufion alfo fometimes ufed to jeer a crooked man; as, So, Sir, I fee fomebody has offended you, for your back is up.

See other phrases first recorded by Captain Francis Grose.

The history of “Put your back up” in printed materials

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About the Author

Gary Martin

Writer and researcher on the origins of phrases and the creator of the Phrase Finder website. Over the past 26 years more than 700 million of his pages have been downloaded by readers. He is one of the most popular and trusted sources of information on phrases and idioms.

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