spoil for (something)
(redirected from spoiling for)spoil for (something)
To be particularly eager or enthusiastic for something, especially a fight, disagreement, or conflict. Tom seems to spoil for a fight the moment he's in the same room as me. I just don't know what it is about me that makes him so antagonistic. We've done everything we can to reach a reasonable compromise with the other party, but they have been spoiling for an argument at every turn.
spoiling for a fight
Especially argumentative or combative; eager to engage in an argument or a fight. My mother is just spoiling for a fight when she makes comments like those—don't let her get to you. After a week with very little sleep and a lot on my mind, I was spoiling for a fight by the time I got home.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
spoiling for a fight
argumentative; asking for a fight. They were just spoiling for a fight, and they went outside to settle the matter. She was grouchy, and you could tell she had been spoiling for a fight all day.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
spoil for
Be eager for, as in He's just spoiling for a fight. This idiom nearly always refers to some kind of altercation. It may allude to spoil in the sense of "deteriorate over a period of time." [Mid-1800s]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
spoil for
v.
To be eager for something, especially a fight: The drunk soccer players at the bar were spoiling for a fight.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs. Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
spoil
tv. to kill someone. It was Joel Cairo’s job to make sure that nobody got close enough to Mr. Big to spoil him.
spoiling for a fight
in. argumentative; asking for a fight. They were just spoiling for a fight, and they went outside to settle the matter.
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.