buck fever

noun

1. nervous excitement of an inexperienced hunter upon the approach of game.

2. any nervous excitement preceding a new experience.

buck fever

noun

1. nervous excitement felt by inexperienced hunters at the approach of game

Word History and Origins

Origin of buck fever¹

An Americanism dating back to 1835–45

Example Sentences

He writes, “ … it’s not that I fear buck fever, it’s that I can’t seem to work up a decent feeling of enmity toward a deer.”

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The hunter, who had remained calm up until then, got a delayed case of “buck fever” and even had to sit down when his knees began to shake.

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The bullet struck within about six inches of where I was aiming, which showed that I was influenced by what is called “buck fever.”

Read more on Project Gutenberg

Often during my life I had heard people speak of "buck fever."

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I never saw but one place that I did not get the buck fever when deer hunting and that was in Trinity and Humboldt counties, California.

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