in high dudgeon
noun phrase

- feeling and usually showing that one is angry or offended

Merriam-Webster Dictionary

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ORIGIN

One common theory is that “in high dudgeon” originally had something to do with grabbing a dagger in anger.

Interestingly, two similar-sounding words: “bludgeon” (jdn. so lange bearbeiten, bis er etw. tut) and “curmudgeon” (Geizhals, Miesepeter) are even more of an etymological mystery.

The word “dudgeon” first appeared in the 15th century meaning the wood used to make the handle of a knife or dagger. Later, it came to mean the handle itself. Shakespeare’s "Macbeth" uses the word with this meaning:

“I see thee still, / And on thy blade and dudgeon gouts of blood, / Which was not so before.”

But decades before Shakespeare, “dudgeon” was being used to mean a feeling of anger or resentment.

The first dictionary citation for the most common use of “dudgeon” today is from an 1885 issue of the Manchester Examiner: “[He] resigned his position as reporter of the Committee in high dudgeon.”

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BEWARE THE ANGRY IDIOMS

You know if someone is angry if they are:

- as mad as a hornet
- blowing a fuse
- blue in the face
- doing their nut
- flipping out
- flying: off the handle, into a rage
- foaming at the mouth
- getting their: panties in a knot, knickers in a twist
- going: bananas, ape, ballistic, berserk, off the deep end
- hitting the roof
- having: a fit, kittens
- hopping mad
- incandescent
- IN HIGH DUDGEON
- like a bear with a sore head
- not best pleased
- on the warpath
- out for blood
- seeing red
- up in arms

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LAUGHING AT ANGER

“People who fly into a rage always make a bad landing.”– Will Rogers, humorist & social commentator

“Speak when you are angry and you will make the best speech you will ever regret.” – Ambrose Bierce, author & satirist

“Madder than a barefoot centipede on a hot rock.” – Buddy Ebsen, American actor & dancer

“My uncle Sammy was an angry man… he had printed on his tombstone: What are you looking at?”* – Margaret Smith, stand-up comedian, actor, writer & producer

*Was glotzt du so?!

“Sharks are not so bad… If a stranger came into my house wearing only a bathing suit, I’d probably get angry too.” - Anonymous

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SMUGGLE OWAD into an English conversation, say something like:

“He walked out of the meeting IN HIGH DUDGEON and resigned the next day.”

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and,

Paul Smith, IBAN: DE75 7316 0000 0002 5477 40