meaning of "I am in a pet"

[Phoo]

Hello,

I only know that an English word "Pet" means animals to be petted.
I found this sentense in my dictonary.

"I am (or She is, whoever) in a pet.

According to the dictionary,
it means "I feel bad or I am angry."
How come?
And what is the core meaning or origin of the wrod "pet"??

[Phoo]

Anothere dictionary says:

"get in a pet" means "get the sulks"

But "sulk" means to be silently angry and refuse to be friendly
or discuss what is annoying or upsetting you.

To me it seems totally different from "Pet".!!!

Help!

[Jamie (K)]

I have never heard this use of the word "pet" in my entire life, and I can't find any example of it on Google. It doesn't make sense to me either, so if I were you I'd just ignore it, and I would be very suspicious of that dictionary.

[Pamela]

Hi Jamie and Phoo,

My home e-dictionary also provided me with 'to be in a pet/ to take(the) pet meaning 'to have the sulks',' to be in the sulks' . It would be better to use 'beast' instead of 'pet' :-) (Just a joke!)

[Yankee]

Hi Phoo

I've never heard 'pet' used this way either -- even though this definition does appear in both American and British dictionaries.

I did a search of the BNC got only one single result in which 'pet' appears to be used this way.

If I were you, I wouldn't worry about this definition.
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[Phoo]

Thanks everyone!

It sounds as if I'd better ignore it
and put the effort on something else,
someting more meanigful.

[Englishuser]

Hi,

Surely it is very useful to know unusual expressions like that...

Englishuser

[Alan]

Hi,

It occurs to me that this use of 'pet' may well be a corruption of 'being petulant'. 'Petulant' describes a mood where you are irritable or impatient.

A
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[Phoo]

Umm...Petulant

I have learned a new English word!! Yee-ha!
Actually, the disaster was a blessing in disguise! haha

[EssexSpaniel]

Hi, I have included a picture with this but I'm not sure if it will get through or not. If not, let me know and I could email it to you.

You have all fathomed it out right. "In a pet" means to be in a petulant mood - stroppy, moody and stamping one's little foot ! My parents, my grandparents and my great grandparents all used it. I may be guilty of using it myself! It's origins are in the Victorian era, and the postcard I have attached comes from an enterprising studio based in England at the end of the 19th century. On the card you will see the title at the bottom "in a pet" and the studio name and locations at the top. This particular photo was taken in London I believe.

So there, I think, is the positive proof and the photographic evidence - my age and how I know all this?? Just don't ask !!! But hope it helps!

Steve Essex Spaniel

[E_Canuck]

I had never heard of "in a pet" for "sulking" either till it appeared just now in a New York Times crossword I'm working on. I can see from other postings here, the "pet" part is probably a shortened form of "petulant", i.e., "petulant mood." This illustrates just how ephemeral slang can be.

Could be, also, the social sin of sulking is less frowned upon than it once was, or that ruder terms might be applied to someone who sulks.