{"id":9311,"date":"2022-09-21T15:32:29","date_gmt":"2022-09-21T15:32:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/?p=9311"},"modified":"2022-09-21T15:34:08","modified_gmt":"2022-09-21T15:34:08","slug":"hissy-fit-meaning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/hissy-fit-meaning\/","title":{"rendered":"Hissy Fit \u2013 Meaning, Origin and Usage"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Have you seen a situation or person that can only be described as hysterical, crazy or completely over the top? The term <strong>'hissy fit' <\/strong>or expression that someone is <strong>'throwing a hissy fit' <\/strong>can be used to apply to both. This post unpacks the meaning and origin of this common saying that you might see in books, movies, shows and the internet.<\/p>\n<h2>Meaning<\/h2>\n<p>The common term <strong>'hissy fit' <\/strong>is a shorter <u>descriptive adjective<\/u> that is derived from the longer expression <strong>'to throw a hissy fit'.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>A <strong>'hissy fit' <\/strong>is a term that can be used to describe a <u>state of hysterics<\/u> or <u>a tantrum.<\/u> General explosive or loud behavior can be referred to as someone <strong>'throwing a hissy fit'<\/strong> or just as <strong>'a hissy fit'.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The term is usually used <u>by a third-party observer to the behavior<\/u>, and is used as a description or a mild insult to say that someone <u>is unnecessarily hysterical or worked up about something.<\/u><\/p>\n<p>The correct way to use the term is to say that someone is throwing a hissy fit, that someone has thrown a hissy fit \u2013 or sometimes the term is just abbreviated to the simple description of 'hissy fit' with the rest of the meaning assumed by the parties in the conversation.<\/p>\n<p>The term is used in the common singular form (\u201chissy fit\u201d) and the plural application of the expression as \u201chissy fits\u201d is almost never used but is theoretically also acceptable.<\/p>\n<p>Sometimes the term can also be used as a self-reference.<\/p>\n<h2>Example Usage<\/h2>\n<p>\u201cI told them that I don't want no pineapples on my pizza, but they still added it to all three of them. Let me tell you, I was about to start throwing a hissy fit right there in the store.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cThe lady really didn't like to see pineapples on her pizza. When we gave her the order, she was absolutely livid and then started to throw a hissy fit until we called the manager.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cIf you don't call the manager right now so that I can complain to them and get my money back, I swear that I'm going to throw a hissy fit.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCalm down, everyone. It's not like we need another hissy fit to happen right here in the store. There's no need to throw a hissy fit, we can just talk about this like people.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Origin<\/h2>\n<p>The origin of the saying 'hissy fit' can be traced back to the term 'hysterical' \u2013 which was considered a scientific term for a general state of mind back in the 1800s to early 1900s.<\/p>\n<p>Further definition of psychiatry would remove the term \u201chysterical\u201d from clinical use, but the term still stuck around as a description for anyone who is irrational or throwing a tantrum. Later, it is assumed that the term 'histerical' would be shortened to 'hissy' and this gave rise to the expression.<\/p>\n<p>The saying 'hissy fit' became popular from the early 1900s, and would later come to describe any type of seemingly or apparent irrational behavior.<\/p>\n<p>Someone who is throwing a 'hissy fit' is irrational, or hysterical.<\/p>\n<p>The term 'hissy fit' would be recorded in dictionaries from the 1930s, and become a popular term again with the rise of social media websites like TikTok and Instagram.<\/p>\n<h2>Phrases Similar to Hissy Fit<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Throwing a fit<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Phrases Opposite to Hissy Fit<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>N\/a<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>What is the Correct Saying?<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>[Throwing a] hissy fit<\/li>\n<li>[Throw a] hissy fit<\/li>\n<li>[Pitch a] hissy fit<\/li>\n<li>[Have a] hissy fit<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Ways People May Say Hissy Fit Incorrectly<\/h2>\n<p>There are several ways in which the term hissy fit can be used in the wrong way by someone who does not understand the meaning or the context of the term.<\/p>\n<p>Someone can throw a singular 'hissy fit', but the plural 'hissy fits' is considered rare.<\/p>\n<h2>Acceptable Ways to Phrase Hissy Fit<\/h2>\n<p>The right way to use the term 'hissy fit' is to say that someone 'threw a hissy fit' or 'had a hissy fit'.<\/p>\n<p>The expression is used to say that someone is acting (or has acted) irrational and hysterical.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p class=\"mb-2\">Have you seen a situation or person that can only be described as hysterical, crazy or completely over the top? The term 'hissy fit' or expression that someone is 'throwing a hissy fit' can be used to apply to both. This post unpacks the meaning and origin of this common saying that you might see [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9311"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9311"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9311\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9313,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9311\/revisions\/9313"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9311"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9311"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9311"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}