Foam at the mouth

What's the meaning of the phrase 'Foam at the mouth'?

Display furious rage.

What's the origin of the phrase 'Foam at the mouth'?

Dogs and other animals, including humans, affected by rabies foam at the mouth.

There are examples of forms of this phrase in Old and Middle English that date back to at least the first millennium. The Lindisfarne Gospels, 950 AD, have a reference to ‘Spumat faeme’. The earliest version in a form that we can now readily understand is in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, 1601:

” He [Caesar] fell down in the market-place, and foamed at mouth, and was speechless.”

The history of “Foam at the mouth” in printed materials

Trend of foam at the mouth in printed material over time

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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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