I have been reading a fantasy novel. I stumbled upon the phrase "have one's hair up about something". Below I quoted the sentence in context. I have done quite some searching, but so far all has been in vain. I can only guess it means being utterly annoyed by something. Can someone tell me if this truly is an idiom and what it means?
And I warn you, I shall be compensated dearly if any of my property is missing or damaged!” He turned on his heel and stormed out the doors. “He’s got his hair up about this one,” chuckled Fen
Best Answer
The expression is a variation of "get one's hackles up", referring to the raised appearance of the hair on the back of a dog when angered.
Hackles refers to the erectile hairs along the back of the neck of an animal, especially of a dog.