birse
Americannoun
-
a short hair of the beard or body; a bristle.
-
anger; rage.
Etymology
Origin of birse
before 900; Old English byrst; cognate with Old High German borst, burst, Old Norse burst. See bristle
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The souter gae the sow a kiss; "grumph," quo' she, "it's for a birse."
From The Proverbs of Scotland by Hislop, Alexander
His birse is up, he is in a passion.
From Wilson's Tales of the Borders and of Scotland, Volume XXIV. by Leighton, Alexander
They knew him for an incomparable fighting leader, an engineer without rival in the camp, but there was no doubt that he needed humouring when, as he would have said himself, "his birse was up."
From A Tatter of Scarlet Adventurous Episodes of the Commune in the Midi 1871 by Crockett, S. R. (Samuel Rutherford)
Sae gin ye get your birse set up By some dour cankert carle, Content yersel'!
From The Auld Doctor and other Poems and Songs in Scots by Rorie, David
Meg's birse was up and no mistake, Her match she had in Jean the rake.
From A Golfing Idyll or The Skipper's Round with the Deil On the Links of St. Andrews by Flint, Violet
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
