cross as a bear

Idioms  

1. Grumpy, ill-humored, annoyed, as in Stay away from Claire; she's cross as a bear this morning. Unlike the earlier cross as two stocks, this survives even though the adjective cross for “ill-tempered” is otherwise not used much in America. It is sometimes amplified as cross as a bear with a sore head. [Early 1700s]

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Example Sentences

I can't think what's got into Sharley," complained her mother; "she has been as cross as a bear this good while.

From Men, Women, and Ghosts by Phelps, Elizabeth Stuart

He's as cross as a bear with a sore head at the present moment, because this young fellow who was to have been his partner has turned against him.

From Rachel Ray by Trollope, Anthony

He was, I was told by everybody, ill, cross as a bear, and in the throes of composition.

From Abroad with the Jimmies by Bell, Lilian

The little mother is as cross as a bear; but, as she cannot be so always, we are looking out for a change of weather.

From Yr Ynys Unyg The Lonely Island by Winton, Julia de

There sitting on a chair by the bedside, all hunched up in his overcoat, with his suitcase at his feet, was Himself, looking as cross as a bear.

From The Black Eagle Mystery by Bonner, Geraldine