pickle up one's ass
- idiom
- Offensive
:
estar de mala leche (vulgar, informal)
- Whenever the meeting runs late, he acts like he's got a pickle up his ass.
Examples
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She always seems to have a pickle up her ass about minor issues at work.
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He always has a pickle up his ass when things don't go his way.
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Don't get a pickle up your ass just because we changed the plans.
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Don't pickle up your ass over a small mistake!
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Why are you so pickled up your ass about this issue?
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Don't get a pickle up your ass about the changes; it's not a big deal.
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She was really in a bad mood, like she had a pickle up her ass about everything.
Synonyms
4
9.9
To become too upset about a small problem
2
9.9
To become very upset about a small problem
2
9.1
To become upset or worried about small things
To become very angry or upset about something small
To suddenly become very angry or upset without control
To become very angry or upset
Get very angry or upset about small things
To become upset over a small problem
To become very upset about something small
Antonyms
How Upset
Surface Forms
Morphology
This is a vulgar, slangy idiom whose meaning ('to be very upset/irritated') is not transparently derived from the literal senses of 'pickle' (preserve or a troublesome situation), 'up' (direction/intensifier), 'one's' (possessive) and 'ass' (butt). The phrase is idiomatic and possibly regional; its sense depends on slang conventions rather than regular compositional rules, so a B1 learner who only knows the individual words would not reliably infer the meaning.
Etymology
Pickle up one's ass likely comes from a crude image: a sour pickle stuck up someone's ass, which would be very uncomfortable and irritating. That's why the phrase means 'to be very upset' or 'angry' about small things.