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Russkiy Bear Posted 13 years ago
Grammar
The verb bristle ; meanings
I'm pretty sure we can use with it animals because I've come across it a few times. The fox's hair bristle when it saw a tiger.
How about people? Is it used for people? The hair on Jack's head bristled when Martha's boyfriend shook a fist at him.
If so, In this sense the verb means afraid or angry too, right? Can it mean something else? maybe shocked or cold or... ?
How about people? Is it used for people? The hair on Jack's head bristled when Martha's boyfriend shook a fist at him.
If so, In this sense the verb means afraid or angry too, right? Can it mean something else? maybe shocked or cold or... ?
Top answer
I bristled at his suggestion. (I took offence, became aggravated or angry) But we really don't associate bristling with our hair, even though it is a vestigal autonomous reaction of our nervous system..
- I bristled at his suggestion.
- (I took offence, became aggravated or angry) But we really don't associate bristling with our hair, even though it is a vestigal autonomous reaction of our nervous system..
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7 Answers
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I bristled at his suggestion. (I took offence, became aggravated or angry)
But we really don't associate bristling with our hair, even though it is a vestigal autonomous reaction of our nervous system..
But we really don't associate bristling with our hair, even though it is a vestigal autonomous reaction of our nervous system..
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Russkiy Bear I'm asking about the meaning when hair stands up stifflyYes. That is the derivation of the word, and its use in connection with animals (esp. dogs, wolves) with a strong autonomous response.
But we don't have to have our hair stand on end to use the word "bristle." (I bristled at his suggestion. )
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ok so if I want to express the simliar idea about people I should say it made his hair stand on end ?
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Russkiy Bear it made his hair stand on end ?The emotion here is fear rather than anger.
Scary movies made the boy's hair stand on end.
The vice-president bristled at the suggestion made at the board meeting that he step down and take a lower position. (He was angered by this suggestion.)
The physical response is hair standing
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ohhh
it made his hair stand on end - fear
bristle - anger or annoyance
right?
it made his hair stand on end - fear
bristle - anger or annoyance
right?
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Russkiy Bearohhhit made his hair stand on end - fearbristle - anger or annoyance right?Those are the most common associations in relation to people and their reactions.
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