Etymology Journal ยท D
Don't throw a hissy fit
Meaning
- A command for someone to stop overreacting or throwing a childish tantrum. It implies that their emotional display is excessive for the circumstances.
Dismissive, sassy
Used in a sentence
- If you don't get the toy you want, please do not throw a hissy fit in the store.
- The boss is going to throw a hissy fit when he sees the quarterly numbers.
- She threw a huge hissy fit just because we ran out of sweet tea.
The backstory
Hissy-fit originated in the early twentieth century, likely as a shortened or regional variation of hysterical fit. It is a quintessential Southernism.
Heard in
The South
Vibe check