# Words indicating annoyance, anger



## Artrella

Good morning people!  

I need some words that show disappointment, anger, annoyance.  For instance, when you were expecting someone to send you a letter and they didn't.  Or when someone lets you down.
I need both polite and colloquial expressions.  Both BrE and AmE.  Could you please help me to make a list of expressions, stating whether they are Br or Am and colloquial or formal?

Thank you!


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## cuchuflete

Why not make this a little easier for us...Are you looking for sentences, adjectives, phrases?

Here is a colloquial AE expression:

That's a bummer.

It indicates mild disappointment, but not desperation.



			
				Artrella said:
			
		

> Good morning people!
> 
> I need some words that show disappointment, anger, annoyance. For instance, when you were expecting someone to send you a letter and they didn't. Or when someone lets you down.
> I need both polite and colloquial expressions. Both BrE and AmE. Could you please help me to make a list of expressions, stating whether they are Br or Am and colloquial or formal?
> 
> Thank you!


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## Artrella

cuchuflete said:
			
		

> Why not make this a little easier for us...Are you looking for sentences, adjectives, phrases?
> 
> Here is a colloquial AE expression:
> 
> That's a bummer.
> 
> It indicates mild disappointment, but not desperation.




Oh, sorry!! Yes, anything will do.  Phrases, verbs, exclamations.  Like this:

Definition
piss sb off (ANNOY) phrasal verb (ALSO pee sb off) OFFENSIVE
to annoy someone:
He never does any washing-up and it's starting to piss me off.

pissed off adjective [after verb] (US ALSO pissed) UK OFFENSIVE
annoyed:
He'd kept me waiting for an hour so I was pissed off to start with.
She seemed a bit pissed off that she hadn't been invited.

(from Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary)


I don't know any other than this one, and it is   

Thank you!


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## cuchuflete

Art- thanks for clarifying what you are looking for.

All of these are AE, and informal.

to be frosted= to be angry
to be honked off= to be angry or annoyed
to be ripshit about something= to be very angry


saludos,
Cuchu


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## Neru

Hi Art. Here are a few more (informal/colloquial), used in BE:

*to be 'gutted'* (about something) - to be very disappointed / devastated.

*to have 'the hump'* (about something) - to be annoyed / displeased / 'in a mood'.

*to be fuming* (about something) - to be very annoyed / angry.


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## gaer

Neru said:
			
		

> Hi Art. Here are a few more (informal/colloquial), used in BE:
> 
> *to be 'gutted'* (about something) - to be very disappointed / devastated.
> 
> *to have 'the hump'* (about something) - to be annoyed / displeased / 'in a mood'.
> 
> *to be fuming* (about something) - to be very annoyed / angry.


Also, "to be 'ticked' about something", and I have no idea where it came from, means the same as "pissed off"…


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## CBFelix

You can be still polite while you depict your inconvenience. 

Being appropriate..
“I don’t want to be hard on you, but your behavior on this matter is not 
appropriate.”  
“It was quite inappropriate to say that!”
“What a inappropriate gift for a child” 

I regret …. 
I regret every moment  I spent with you.   
I regret every word that I told you, you bastard!! , you stupid  man, is it empty up there  ?  – that was not polite..   

Inconvenience..
“I hope the delay has not caused any inconvenience to our customers”

Disappoint..
“I was quite disappointed when you cancelled the appointment”
“Not sending me a letter or a little note in order to explain what really happened was a kind of a disappointment for me.”

Afflict (maybe little harsh but can be used in extreme situations) 
“I was afflicted with/by your …”

Upset, being sad, etc.. 

After all, 
"I should be beautiful and shut up ! "


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## Wordsmyth

A few more for you, Artrella

AmE & BrE boundaries are becoming more & more elastic, but there are still some traps. While "pissed off" is BrE (& sometimes AmE), you should beware of "pissed", which also means 'annoyed' in AmE, but means 'drunk' in BrE !!

Some other BrE for "he's annoyed" (_none offensive_):

"he's put out" (also meaning 'troubled', 'bothered', 'inconvenienced')
"he's miffed" (_slang_)
"he's narked" (_slang_)
"his feathers are ruffled"
"he's seeing red"
"s/o has put his nose out of joint"
"s/o (or s/th) has got under his skin"
"s/o (or s/th) has rubbed him up the wrong way"
"he's cheesed off with s/o" (but beware: "he's cheesed off" on its own usually means "he's bored" or "he's depressed").

.


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## Sharon

irritated, irked, peeved -> Moderate, mild anger. (Makes you want to snap at them.)
furious, infuriated, irate ->  Very angry. (Makes you want to yell at them - or worse. )

exasperate - to infuriate or frustrate
indignant - angry and resentful
perturb - to annoy or trouble
rancor - hatred
reprehensible - deserving of criticism (This is one of my favorites! )
ire - Angry and wrathful.
rage -  Violent anger
furor - Violent anger
spite - hard feelings, has a slight feel of revenge.
antipathy - a strong dislike
disaffected - full of resentment
disconcerted - disturbed or upset
aversion - another strong dislike 
contentious - argumentative or quarrelsome


Madder than a wet hen.
Mad enough to spit nails.
Seeing red.


*If you are easy to anger, you are irascible
*A long, angry speech is called a tirade.
*You rebuke or reprove someone if you scold them or find fault with them.


I'll try to think of more expressions for you!

Sharon.


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## Artrella

I want to thank you all for your great help>> *Cuchufléte, Neru, Gaer, CBFelix,Wordsmyth, and Shar.*


Cheers!!


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## timpeac

sorry, ignore this. I click on delete, but it doesn't disappear!


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## Artrella

timpeac said:
			
		

> sorry, ignore this. I click on delete, but it doesn't disappear!




Oh Timpeac! I'm sorry maybe you wanted to contribute...   I tried to sound humorous... but it seems my English is not good enough yet to play jokes!!

Sorry, sorry!!


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## timpeac

Artrella said:
			
		

> Oh Timpeac! I'm sorry maybe you wanted to contribute...  I tried to sound humorous... but it seems my English is not good enough yet to play jokes!!
> 
> Sorry, sorry!!


 
No, not at all! Don't worry. I just wrote rubbish, and wanted to delete my post. Don't understand why it won't let me...


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## lsp

timpeac said:
			
		

> No, not at all! Don't worry. I just wrote rubbish, and wanted to delete my post. Don't understand why it won't let me...


Timpeac, You have to choose delete in 2 places


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## timpeac

Thanks Isp! I'm going to post a message after this one and then try to delete it. If I delete the one I wanted to delete now, then no one will understand what we have all been talking about!


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## timpeac

It worked. Thanks Isp!


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## Benjy

lsp said:
			
		

> Timpeac, You have to choose delete in 2 places



ahahaha.. i see that you been learning form the best  thing is though, if i had tp bet money on it i would say that that was exactly what our esteemed mr peacock did :s

edit.. reading tim's post i see it is a good job that i didn't have to bet eh?
edit2.. i can still seee all your posts. you decided not to delete them?


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## timpeac

Ooh, I haven't been esteemed for a very long time... 

I thought that if I deleted the original message I wanted to delete then it would just leave a very confusing number of messages that no one would understand!


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## lsp

Benjy said:
			
		

> ahahaha.. i see that you been learning form the best


But of course! And "paying it forward." I felt in need of redemption and glory be, it worked!


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## Sharon

*Someone or something that makes you irritated or mad can:*

Get your back up....(picture an angry cat!)
Get your goat
Get your dander up
Set your teeth on edge....(sort of like the sound of fingernails on a chalkboard!)


*If you yell at someone, you can:*

Read them the riot act.......To read the riot act to someone
Let loose on them
Go off on them
Rake them over the coals
Give them a tongue lashing
Clean their clock.....(this can mean physical violence, too.)


*If you want to argue with someone, you:*

Have a bone to pick........(this is more for a certain cause)
Have a chip on your shoulder...........(this carries a sense of defiance, or a long lasting grudge)


*If you lose control suddenly you can:*

Blow your top
Flip your lid
Fly off the handle....(this has the sense of being angry for little cause, maybe you assume something incorrectly.)
Go off half-cocked.....(This one, too. These two are usually used in an apology!)


*You can be:*

As mad as hops....(I think that's British.)
Hopping mad.......(I think that's American.)
Bristling with anger
All het up.......(Very colloquial! "Het" is not in my dictionary, but it means hot or heated..."Don't get all het up about it.")

*You can:*

Catch an attitude
Have an attitude
Get het up......Get all het up....(See above)
Get riled......Get riled up
Be vexed with someone.


*Questioning someone angrily (or being questioned) is known as *giving (or getting) the third degree.*


Art, I tried to put them in context as much as I could, if you want to see anything in a sentence, just ask!! 

Sharon.


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## te gato

Hay Art;

A couple of words from some Army friends of mine...Yes I have friends! 
If you are very mad--"You have a case of the ass"...
Or "red ass" --is another..Eg:--"you are such a red ass"
"pikachu"--for an annoying person--"Pikachu--will you shut up!"
If you are very Pi**ed at them then you say--"you're a 10 on the A.B.S."
A,B.S--A**hole Behavior Scale...

Don't blame me!! This is what they say....
te gato


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## garryknight

One expression I haven't seen in this thread is "hacked off". As in "I got totally hacked off the last time I had to use Microsoft Windows". It's colloquial and expresses fairly extreme displeasure (between 5 and 8 on a scale of 1-10) without being offensive - at least not in itself, though some people might be offended if you said that they had hacked you off.


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## Artrella

Thank you very much *Garry, Timpeac and te gato *  !


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## te gato

Artrella said:
			
		

> Thank you very much *Garry, Timpeac and te gato *!


 
Your welcome...
Anytime Art.
te gato


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## gaer

Artrella said:
			
		

> Thank you very much *Garry, Timpeac and te gato *!


You're welcome!

Gaer


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## Wordsmyth

Sharon said:
			
		

> *Someone or something that makes you irritated or mad can:*
> _etc, etc ......._
> 
> Sharon.



Hey Sharon,   your l-o-o-o-n-g post made me think that we often hear too much about the differences between AmE & BrE.  Virtually all the colloquialisms you list are also in common use in UK, and are not recent imports; (I'm making the big assumption that your origins are US  ). 

So maybe G B Shaw's quote about "two countries divided by a common language" isn't so true.   

On the other hand, maybe he was thinking of Canada! (I refer to your "Army friends" post, te gato!)


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## Wordsmyth

Artrella said:
			
		

> I want to thank you all for your great help>> *Cuchufléte, Neru, Gaer, CBFelix,Wordsmyth, and Shar.*
> 
> 
> Cheers!!



With pleasure, Art   

I see you edited your post (deleted: "eek ...  I'll have to use those words in context and I will ask for you to check them ..."). Well, go for it: using in context is what words are for ; and asking...etc... that's what forums & friends are for!


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## gaer

Wordsmyth said:
			
		

> A few more for you, Artrella
> 
> AmE & BrE boundaries are becoming more & more elastic, but there are still some traps. While "pissed off" is BrE (& sometimes AmE), you should beware of "pissed", which also means 'annoyed' in AmE, but means 'drunk' in BrE !!
> 
> Some other BrE for "he's annoyed" (_none offensive_):
> 
> "he's put out" (also meaning 'troubled', 'bothered', 'inconvenienced')
> "he's miffed" (_slang_)
> "he's narked" (_slang_)
> "his feathers are ruffled"
> "he's seeing red"
> "s/o has put his nose out of joint"
> "s/o (or s/th) has got under his skin"
> "s/o (or s/th) has rubbed him up the wrong way"
> "he's cheesed off with s/o" (but beware: "he's cheesed off" on its own usually means "he's bored" or "he's depressed").
> 
> .


 
Interesting. Here it is: "s/o (or s/th) has rubbed him the wrong way". No "up". I never heard "cheesed off"!


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## Sharon

Wordsmyth said:
			
		

> Hey Sharon, your l-o-o-o-n-g post made me think that we often hear too much about the differences between AmE & BrE. Virtually all the colloquialisms you list are also in common use in UK, and are not recent imports; (I'm making the big assumption that your origins are US  ).
> 
> So maybe G B Shaw's quote about "two countries divided by a common language" isn't so true.
> 
> On the other hand, maybe he was thinking of Canada! (I refer to your "Army friends" post, te gato!)


Wordsmyth,

Welcome to the Forum!! Our Art just loves expressions, which was part of the reason for my long post, and knowing that she is learning English in order to teach it, I try to be as thorough as possible for her D I love expressions, also!) Being new to the forum, you probably have not heard (technically, I guess that would be "read"...) about the ongoing battle of *"Art versus Teacher"* !!  Art's teacher, (and I use the term loosely) seems to think that Art is trying to learn too much, and tells her not to ask so many questions. Then Teacher tells her that "exent" *is* a word, whereas "doughnut" is *not*!!  

Yes, my origins are US, and I am beginning to think that there *is* an ocean between here and Canada!!  Here, my twenty-something friends use the words "a case of the ass" to say that a person smells bad! (_Really _bad.)  Although, I agree with Gaer's comments, and I have never heard "narked." 

Sharon.


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## Artrella

Wordsmyth said:
			
		

> With pleasure, Art
> 
> I see you edited your post (deleted: "eek ...  I'll have to use those words in context and I will ask for you to check them ..."). Well, go for it: using in context is what words are for ; and asking...etc... *that's what forums & friends are for*!




Thank you very much Wordsmyth, I think the same as you do!!


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## te gato

Wordsmyth said:
			
		

> So maybe G B Shaw's quote about "two countries divided by a common language" isn't so true.
> 
> On the other hand, maybe he was thinking of Canada! (I refer to your "Army friends" post, te gato!)


Wordsmyth;
Trust me...sometimes I am not sure..
We are a world of our own.. 
You also have to remember that the "Army" has a language all it's own...
te gato


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## Helicopta

te gato said:
			
		

> If you are very mad--"You have a case of the ass"...
> Or "red ass" --is another..Eg:--"you are such a red ass"


 
In a similar way, we use 'arse' in this context too...

He's got the arse - He's annoyed/in a bad mood
Don't get the arse/don't get arsey - don't get annoyed

(It's also used for apathy: I can't be arsed - I can't be bothered)


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## te gato

Helicopta said:
			
		

> In a similar way, we use 'arse' in this context too...
> 
> He's got the arse - He's annoyed/in a bad mood
> Don't get the arse/don't get arsey - don't get annoyed
> 
> (It's also used for apathy: I can't be arsed - I can't be bothered)


Thanks Helicopta!!
That just proves that I'm not in a "WORLD BY MYSELF"  
I feel so much better now...
te gato


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## Wordsmyth

Sharon said:
			
		

> Wordsmyth,
> 
> Welcome to the Forum!!  [....]  Art's teacher ... tells her that "exent" *is* a word, whereas "doughnut" is *not*!!  [....]  and I have never heard "narked."
> 
> Sharon.




Thanks for the welcome, Sharon   -- and for the enlightenment about Art's teacher. (Art  , you have my moral support, no-one can learn *too* much! ... and I guess Teach has never tried eating an exent!). 

Sharon ,  3 gold stars for your spelling of 'doughnut'  . An American friend once told me a donut tastes better when it's had the 'ugh' taken out of it!

By the way, my "l-o-o-o-n-g post" comment was in no way negative -- this one's getting pretty long itself, so in case I'm risking Mod censure, I'll get back to the thread:

*More about "nark(ed)" * - Someone who is 'narked', or is 'in a nark', is annoyed. It comes (reputedly) from the Romany word 'nak', meaning 'nose' (link with "nose out of joint"??). A 'nark' is also a spy or informant (also known as a 'nose', for obvious reasons); a 'copper's nark' is a police informant - And in AmE? : stoolie?, ....

Nuff for now


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## Sharon

Wordsmyth said:
			
		

> *More about "nark(ed)" * - Someone who is 'narked', or is 'in a nark', is annoyed. It comes (reputedly) from the Romany word 'nak', meaning 'nose' (link with "nose out of joint"??). A 'nark' is also a spy or informant (also known as a 'nose', for obvious reasons); a 'copper's nark' is a police informant - And in AmE? : stoolie?, ....


This is interesting. In that sense, we use the word "*narc*." (Or, I just learned...nark !) 
When I have seen it spelled with a 'k' I thought that people were misspelling it! I looked up nar*k* in my Webster's, and found: 1.) Slang variation of narc. 2.) _Chiefly Brit._- A police informer. So, I looked up nar*c*, and found: narc (or nark) [Short for narcotics agent.]  _Slang._ A law enforcement officer who deals with narcotics violations. 

I had always heard the "narcotics agent" definition, which is why I assumed the 'k' was a mispelling!
Oh, and there we go with the "chiefly Brit." again!!  

Stoolie is probably a little dated.

Sharon.


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## te gato

I agree "stoolie" is outdated...

Here they use "source"
"The police officer went to talk to his 'source' (wink, wink,) today"
te gato


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## pinkpanter

Hey Art,

Some more options for being angry:
TEED OFF
MIFFED
STEAMED UP
BURNED UP
HOT UNDER THE COLLAR

when you are very angry:
BE ON TEH WARPATH
BE UP IN ARMS
BE FOAMING AT THE MOUTH
BE AS MAD AS HELL

when you express your anger verbally:
BLOW A FUSE
HIT THE ROOF/ CEILING
BLOW UP AT SOMEONE

when you lose control:
HAVE A FIT
TROW A FIT
LOSE YOUR COOL
COME UNGLUED
LOSE IT
GET WORKED UP


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## Artrella

Hey guys!  It seems you KNOW really well how it feels to be angry!!! Look at how many words you have given me!!!  
OK, now I can get angry and express  it with proper words other than %*$&$#"!?=¡... *  

Thank you!!!!


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## te gato

Artrella said:
			
		

> Hey guys! It seems you KNOW really well how it feels to be angry!!! Look at how many words you have given me!!!
> OK, now I can get angry and express it with proper words other than %*$&$#"!?=¡... *
> 
> Thank you!!!!


Hey Art;
You're **&%$#$* Welcome !!!!*
te gato


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## gaer

te gato said:
			
		

> Hey Art;
> You're **&%$#$* Welcome !!!!*
> te gato


 
And the discussion was **&%$#$* *interesting. 

Gaer


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## pinkpanter

Artrella said:
			
		

> Hey guys!  It seems you KNOW really well how it feels to be angry!!! Look at how many words you have given me!!!
> OK, now I can get angry and express  it with proper words other than %*$&$#"!?=¡... *
> 
> Thank you!!!!



Art, I always do that as well "ghkhhfjhg"  I think it does not matter how many words for being angry you know... typing that way expresses better the feeling, and you get out a bit of your anger by mistreating your keyboard! hehe

kisses


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## pinkpanter

Podíamos aprovechar para aprender más palabras sobre lo contrario, sobre no enfadarse sino estar calmada y feliz 

Por ejemplo

KEEP ONE'S COOL
PLAY IT COOL
AS COOL AS A CUCUMBER
BE LAID BACK
STAY POSITIVE

Es curioso como siempre sabemos más palabras para sentimientos negativos que para positivos!! 

Saludos


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## Artrella

pinkpanter said:
			
		

> Podíamos aprovechar para aprender más palabras sobre lo contrario, sobre no enfadarse sino estar calmada y feliz
> 
> Por ejemplo
> 
> KEEP ONE'S COOL
> PLAY IT COOL
> AS COOL AS A CUCUMBER
> BE LAID BACK
> STAY POSITIVE
> 
> Es curioso como siempre sabemos más palabras para sentimientos negativos que para positivos!!
> 
> Saludos




Yes Pink!! you are right, I'll include some other words and expressions to your
POSITIVE list...

COOL DOWN/OFF
CHILL OUT
EVEN TEMPERED
UNRUFFLED

Kissies!


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## pinkpanter

Good ones Art! Some more for our positive list...

UPBEAT
SEEING THE GLASS HALF FULL
HAPPY-GO-LUCKY

I cannot think of more. Foreros help!


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## gaer

Wordsmyth said:
			
		

> Thanks for the welcome, Sharon  -- and for the enlightenment about Art's teacher. (Art , you have my moral support, no-one can learn *too* much! ... and I guess Teach has never tried eating an exent!).
> 
> Sharon , 3 gold stars for your spelling of 'doughnut'  . An American friend once told me a donut tastes better when it's had the 'ugh' taken out of it!
> 
> By the way, my "l-o-o-o-n-g post" comment was in no way negative -- this one's getting pretty long itself, so in case I'm risking Mod censure, I'll get back to the thread:
> 
> *More about "nark(ed)" *- Someone who is 'narked', or is 'in a nark', is annoyed. It comes (reputedly) from the Romany word 'nak', meaning 'nose' (link with "nose out of joint"??). A 'nark' is also a spy or informant (also known as a 'nose', for obvious reasons); a 'copper's nark' is a police informant - And in AmE? : stoolie?, ....
> 
> Nuff for now


I think any teacher who discourage people from "going the extra distance" should not be called a teacher!

My addition for anger.

<gggrrrr>


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## Sharon

PinkPanter said:
			
		

> Es curioso como siempre sabemos más palabras para sentimientos negativos que para positivos!!


Does this say: 
"It is curious how we always know more words for negative sentiments than for positive".....??  

Sadly, that's human nature. For some reason, it is much easier to complain than it is to compliment. At work, I ask a lot of people "How are you today?" and the ones who do the most talking...are complaining. If everything is going well for them, they simply say "Fine." My friends complain about their boyfriends/husbands a lot, but if the poor guys do something good, my friends might mention it briefly, but I don't get near as many details!!

To add a little to the positive list, I have always liked "unflappable."


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## pinkpanter

Sharon, thanks for your word.

Yes! You explained perfectly what I wanted to say with that sentence 

A positive hug,


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## Wordsmyth

A few more 'positives' :

serene
composed
level-headed
hanging loose

W


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## Douglas

pinkpanter said:
			
		

> Sharon, thanks for your word.
> 
> Yes! You explained perfectly what I wanted to say with that sentence
> 
> A positive hug,


 
He/she blew it
He/she is on a rampage
He/she is on his/her high horse
He/she is on the warpath
He/she blew up
He/she had a fit
He/she exploded
He/she lost it
He/she erupted


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## pinkpanter

Wordsmyth said:
			
		

> A few more 'positives' :
> 
> serene
> composed
> level-headed
> hanging loose
> 
> W



They are cool options


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## pinkpanter

Another one for "molestarse"

TAKE UMBRAGE


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## sperdomo

here's a syntactic way to express annoyance and dissaproval:

Use a negative question. 

Weren't you supposed to write me? (you said you would)
Don't you think you should stop?
Aren't you going to say anything?
Didn't you say you would pick up the tickets?

If you get the tone of voice right, these "questions"  will be highly annoying to the person on the other end.


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## Narda

How about rue.. 

He rues the day that...


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## pinkpanter

Hi, I think rue is more like "someone will be sorry about..."


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## pinkpanter

sperdomo said:
			
		

> here's a syntactic way to express annoyance and dissaproval:
> 
> Use a negative question.
> 
> Weren't you supposed to write me? (you said you would)
> Don't you think you should stop?
> Aren't you going to say anything?
> Didn't you say you would pick up the tickets?
> 
> If you get the tone of voice right, these "questions"  will be highly annoying to the person on the other end.



Yes! This is a good trick


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## Douglas

pinkpanter said:
			
		

> Yes! This is a good trick


 
And, to put in some cynical diplomacy you may add: "Did I misunderstand that your were supposed to. etc". . .


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## Artrella

Douglas said:
			
		

> And, to put in some cynical diplomacy you may add: "Did I *misunderstand* that your were supposed to. etc". . .





Reaaaally cynical!! Very good one!! you say a lot without using "annoyance" words... very smart and poisonous!!


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## pinkpanter

Yes Douglas! It is a great idea to bother someone a lot saying that


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## gaer

Artrella said:
			
		

> Reaaaally cynical!! Very good one!! you say a lot without using "annoyance" words... very smart and poisonous!!


 
"Smart and poisonous". Good way to put it. Here's another expression:

"Nasty-nice". 

Gaer


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## la grive solitaire

To express extreme annoyance, how about "to call someone on the carpet" ?  For example, "My boss called me on the carpet for taking the afternoon off without telling her."  (I think it may be a little old-fashioned but I love the image it conjures up!)


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## pinkpanter

gaer said:
			
		

> "Smart and poisonous". Good way to put it. Here's another expression:
> 
> "Nasty-nice".
> 
> Gaer



What a nice word!


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## gaer

pinkpanter said:
			
		

> What a nice word!


It came from a friend in Japan. 

Gaer


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