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They're having kittens!

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FredPuli43 | 19:48 Sat 11th Aug 2012 | Phrases & Sayings
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"He's having kittens over it", "The goalkeeper's giving his defenders kittens" and so on. When and where did 'giving s.o. kittens' or 'having kittens', meaning creating, or suffering, sudden , but not very serious , anxiety, first come into the language? And why 'kittens' ?
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Cassell's Slang Dict. simply relates this to the general nervousness of a cat about to give birth.
It started life as slang in the USA around 1900, originally meaning 'get angry' before taking on the 'anxious' significance. I wondered whether it was intended to mirror the structure of the rather similar word 'jitters', but that is even newer!

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They're having kittens!

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