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an unreasonable emotional out burst.
just because i forgot your birthday, theres no reason to throw a hissy fit
a short-lived temper tantrum.
babies and mothers were known to have hissy-fits.
a sudden but violent outburst of a person shouting, screaming recriminations and (possibly) wailing, generally short-lived but shocking.

“hissy fit” used to describe an adult tantrum but now has become an equal opportunity description, young or old, male or female. what they all have in common is no matter how severe the (alleged) offense, there is always some wounded pride involved, and usually an audience of bystanders along with the culprit who allegedly triggered the hissy.

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— “when i told sarah she couldn’t have the doll, she broke down and pitched a major hissy fit. right there in the toy department at target!”

–“so when joe got fired, all he did was throw a hissy fit out in the hall? terrible. real men used to slug each other.”

–“she freaked! she had a hissy! she thinks you’re the cat’s meow.” ‘farmer ted’ (anthony michael hall) in movie sixteen candles (1984), describing the molly ringwald character’s sudden infatuation with a boy two years her senior.

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hissy-fit: noun, singular and plural possible.

an hysterical rant or tantrum, particularly one completely at odds with the gravity of the situation being protested. often involves stamping of feet, whining, biting, clawing, and loud, obnoxious, screaming tears. one may “have” or “pull” a hissy-fit.

children under the age of four tend to collapse into hissy-fits when confronted with adversity, but hissy-fits are by no means limited to a certain age group or gender.
the spoiled child had a hissy-fit when he couldn’t take the kangaroo home.
(hissy-fit)

main entry: hissyfit

function: verb
etymology 1: used on west coast by mothers, circa 1952-
date: ??

1: a tantrum. a loud outcry followed by stamping feet, clawing, biting, or obnoxious tears.
2: an overt negative response for no reason. a long response in the negative.
madona had a hissyfit after she was sued for noise pollution.
noun. a sudden outburst of temper, often used to describe female anger at something trivial. originally regional from american south. thought to originate from contraction of “hysterical fit.”
she threw a hissy fit when she found out the last pair of shoes had been sold.
huge outburst by an adult resembling a toddler tantrum or the reaction from a teenager when told by their parents to do anything. can also be applied to anything quits working in a dramatic way!
my computer had a hissy fit and then just quit working

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