Chrysti The Wordsmith: Dander - 1

Greetings and welcome to Christie the wordsmith. Getting cut off in line relentless teasing efforts gone unappreciated. Things like this can really get your dander up. Now here's an idiom that was firmly in place in the English language by the 1830s. A line from an American letter written in 1834 provides a perfect context for this expression. He was as wrathy as thunder and when he gets his dander up I tell you it's no joke. The origin of the noun in this phrase dander has never been positively identified. Choose your favorite theory from the following etymological lineup. Number one when I think dander I think tiny flakes from Hair feathers or skin. Imagine a scaly explosion surrounding creatures engaged in an agitated scuffle confrontation could indeed raise their dander. A sense that we could transfer to one human irritating another theory to involve the Dutch term donder meaning thunder. Here we could equate thunder with anger. Perhaps the original

phrase was get your Dondre up or make you mad as thunder. Another idea associates dander with Dunder D U N D E R A West Indian term for fermented cane juice used in the manufacture of rum. The idea of fermentation provides a metaphor for getting frothy with rage. Get your dander up. Next time on Kristi the wordsmith an exploration of a synonymous idiom. Get your goat. Kristie the wordsmith is sponsored by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Zoot enterprises. A high tech firm in Bozeman Montana offering challenging careers and innovative solutions for the financial services industry sued web dotcom.