trigger-happy
Also found in: Dictionary, Thesaurus.
trigger-happy
1. Eager to use a weapon, i.e. to pull the trigger (of a gun). I know you're trigger-happy, but quit shooting or you'll scare off all the animals!
2. Having a tendency to do something or engage in or begin some activity with even the smallest level of enticement or provocation. Whenever I'm editing, I always get a little trigger-happy with the delete key and end up having to add some things back later. Don't pass to Rick. He's trigger-happy and shoots every time he gets the ball.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
trigger happy
Inclined to act violently at the slightest provocation, as in They feared that the President was trigger happy and would send in troops at the drop of a hat . This expression alludes to being too eager to fire a gun. [c. 1940]
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.
trigger happy
If someone is trigger happy, they are too willing to use a gun. The firing continued throughout the night, trigger happy soldiers making sleep impossible.
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012
trigger-happy
mod. eager to fire a gun; eager to shoot someone or something. Rocko is sort of trigger-happy. Watch out.
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.