make your blood boil




make your blood boil :




blood and guts

violence and bloodshed especially in fiction



blood and iron

military force rather than diplomacy

Blood and iron is a translation of German Blut und Eisen, a phrase particularly associated with a speech made by the German statesman Bismarck (1815-98) in the Prussian House of Deputies in 1886.



blood and thunder

unrestrained and violent action or behaviour especially in sport or fiction

Blood and thunder is often used to describe sensational literature and in the late 19th century gave rise to penny bloods as a term for cheap sensational novels.



blood is thicker than water

family loyalties are stronger than other relationships



blood on the carpet

used to refer in an exaggerated way to a serious disagreement or its aftermath

1984 - Times - The last thing I want now is blood on the boardroom carpet.



blood sweat and tears

extremely hard work

unstinting effort

ln May 1940 Winston Churchill made a speech in the House of Commons in which he declared : I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat.



blood will tell

family characteristics cannot be concealed - proverb



first blood

the first point or advantage gained in a contest

First blood is literally the first shedding of blood especially in a boxing match or formerly in duelling with swords.



have blood on your hands

be responsible for the death of someone



in cold blood

without feeling or mercy, ruthlessly

According to medieval physiology blood was naturally hot and so this phrase refers to an unnatural state in which someone can carry out a (hot-blooded) deed of passion or violence without the normal heating of the blood.



in your blood

ingrained in or fundamental to your character



like getting blood out of a stone

extremely difficult and frustrating

A North American variant of this expression is like getting blood out of a turnip.



make your blood boil

infuriate you



make your blood curdle

fill you with horror



make your blood run cold

horrify you

The previous three phrases all come from the medieval physiological scheme of the four humours in the human body (melancholy, phlegm, blood and choler). Under this scheme blood was the hot, moist element, so the effect of horror or fear in making the blood run cold or curdling (solidifying) it was to make it unable to fulfill its proper function of supplying the body with vital heat or energy. The blood boiling was a supposedly dangerous overreaction to strong emotion.



new blood = young blood

new or younger members of a group especially those admitted as an invigorating force



someone's blood is up

someone is in a fighting mood



sweat blood

make an extraordinarily strenuous effort to do something

be extremely anxious



taste blood

achieve an early success that stimulates further efforts.



there is bad blood between

there is longstanding hostility between the parties

2001 - Hugh Collins - No Smoke - There are occasional square-gos sometimes. But there's no bad blood between rival gangs.




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