Hot under the collar

One upset looking baby boy on a blanket in a park.
(Photo: Ryan Franco/Unsplash | Text: David/ArtisanEnglish.jp)

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English Phrase: Hot under the collar

It’s getting hard to drive these days without getting hot under the collar.

I don’t know how people receive or manage to keep their driver’s licenses.

With the advent of drive recorders, it seems there is no shortage of videos of stupid drivers doing foolish things on the roads.

Some drivers who get too hot under the collar commit road rage, which only makes matters worse.

It’s not restricted to any particular age group, either.

Anyone between 2 and 114 can become hot under the collar for any reason at all.


You see, the phrase hot under the collar is most often used to mean to become angry.

It can also mean to be embarrassed or perhaps even resentful of someone, but I think most times it means to become angry.


Even the calmest person can get hot under the collar sometimes.

For kids, it often happens when they are tired or overstressed.

That’s why I chose the picture of the child at a picnic.

He looks like one unhappy camper.

By the look on his face, you can tell he is getting hot under the collar.

I’m glad he isn’t driving home today.

To be truthful, I get the same way, too, when I am overtired.

Being tired leads me to be grumpy, which means I can suddenly become hot under the collar for the slightest reason.

The police say you should never drive when drunk.

In my case, I should never drive when intoxicated or overly tired.

The smallest transgression niggles at me when I’m tired, and like that kid, I get hot under the collar.

The good thing is, it’s nothing a good nap won’t cure.


Flesch-Kincaid Readability Test

This post is understandable by someone with at least a 7th-grade education (age 12).

On the Flesch-Kincaid reading-ease test, this post scores 77.

The higher the score on a scale of 0 – 100, the easier the passage is to read.



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