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Glite Dictionary
to get someone's goat

to get someone's goat

8.4
To annoy someone or make them angry
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : sacar de quicio a alguien
  • The constant noise from the construction site really gets my goat.

Examples

Synonyms

to annoy
vsto get someone's goat
246 1.0

Make someone slightly angry or bothered by small repeated actions

is stronger general annoyance, not limited to small repeated acts
to get to
vsto get someone's goat
  • Informal
215 6.3

Annoy or upset someone gradually

is any annoyance, not only gradual or repeated bother
to drive someone crazy
vsto get someone's goat
  • Informal
158 3.2

Make someone very annoyed or upset

is the ordinary annoyance feeling rather than extreme upset
to provoke
vsto get someone's goat
144 3.6

Annoy someone again and again to make them react

is general irritation that may be accidental or one-off
to rile
vsto get someone's goat
63 6.9

Make someone annoyed, often by small things

is general annoyance not focused on petty triggers
to antagonize
vsto get someone's goat
  • US
31 7.6

To make someone angry or unfriendly

is annoyance that does not necessarily create active hostility
to irk
vsto get someone's goat
25 6.3

Make someone feel annoyed

is broader, covering many causes of annoyance not only single acts
to get a rise out of
vsto get someone's goat
  • Informal
8 6.8

Make someone angry or annoyed on purpose by teasing them

is the resulting annoyance without implying deliberate provocation
to gall
vsto get someone's goat
8 7.1

To annoy someone deeply

is milder irritation not reaching strong resentment
to get on someone's nerves
vsto get someone's goat
  • Informal
7 4.9

To bother someone again and again until they feel angry

is the same irritation but can be short or occasional
to get under someone's skin
vsto get someone's goat
  • Informal
4 7.4

To annoy someone a lot by small things another person does

is ordinary annoyance that lacks deep emotional impact
to peeve
vsto get someone's goat
2 6.8

To make someone feel annoyed

is the fuller annoyance feeling rather than a petty irritation
to push someone's buttons
vsto get someone's goat
  • Informal
1 7.1

To do or say something on purpose to annoy someone

is general annoyance that may not be caused on purpose
to get one's dander up
vsto get someone's goat
  • Informal
1 9.1

To make someone angry

is milder annoyance that may not reach full anger
to raise hackles
vsto get someone's goat
1 7.9

To make someone angry or upset

is general annoyance without the clear hostile reaction
to give someone the shits
vsto get someone's goat
  • Offensive
1 9.9

To make someone very annoyed or angry

is similar annoyance but without crude or extreme expression
to get someone's back up
vsto get someone's goat
  • UK
1 7.9

To annoy someone or make them feel defensive

is general irritation and does not require criticism or defensiveness
to do someone's head in
vsto get someone's goat
  • UK
1 9.8

To make someone feel very annoyed or upset

is straightforward annoyance without causing mental distress or confusion
to get on someone's wick
vsto get someone's goat
  • UK
9.9

To annoy someone by doing the same small things again and again

is neutral and used broadly rather than specifically British
to put up someone's back
vsto get someone's goat
  • UK
8.9

To annoy someone so they become defensive

is general annoyance without necessarily causing defensiveness

Antonyms

to please
216 1.0

To make someone happy or satisfied

How Annoying

to madden
6 5.3
to get someone's goat
  • Informal
8.4
to annoy
246 1.0
to bug
  • Informal
85 3.7
to peeve
2 6.8

Surface Forms

get someone's goat infinitive

Morphology

get + someone's + goat

The meaning 'to annoy someone' is not compositionally derivable from 'get' (obtain), 'someone's' (possessive), and 'goat' (the animal); there is no clear literal mechanism by which obtaining a goat would mean causing irritation. The expression is idiomatic and historically motivated, so an average B1 learner who only knows the constituents would not reliably infer the idiomatic sense.

Etymology

Get someone's goat may come from old race stables where a calm goat stayed with a racehorse to keep it quiet, and if someone took the goat away the horse would become upset and run badly. So the phrase came to mean 'to annoy' or 'to make someone upset'.