to spit poison
- phrasal verb
- /spɪt ˈpɔɪzən/
- Informal
:
hablar con veneno
- During the argument, she would not stop spitting poison at him in front of their friends.
Examples
-
When he found out she was lying, he started to spit poison with his harsh words.
-
His comments were filled with anger, as if he were ready to spit poison at anyone who disagreed.
-
BUT HE CAN SPIT...POISON.
Synonyms
99
6.3
To say words quickly and angrily to show strong dislike
71
5.6
Suddenly say angry things about someone by speaking or writing
28
8.3
To speak rudely and loudly to a person in charge
21
5.8
To say something in an angry, sharp voice
5
7.5
Say insulting, bragging words to make someone angry or nervous
Say angry, cruel things about someone
To criticize someone angrily using harsh words
To speak angrily to someone and criticize them
Antonyms
How Hostile
43
7.9
- Informal
- Offensive
313
1.3
701
3.3
371
1.4
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to speak with intense anger or malice' is directly derivable from combining 'spit' (to utter, often angrily) with 'poison' (something harmful); the image of 'spitting something poisonous' maps straightforwardly onto producing harmful words. This metaphorical but transparent composition is common cross-linguistically and would be understandable to an average B1 learner who knows the constituent words.
Etymology
The phrase spit poison comes from the image of someone spitting out poison, as if their words were dangerous and could hurt people. That's why it means 'to speak with strong anger or malice'.