When Paul Taylor writes: "One person has ticked me off for having a shouting match with Mike Barr," what does he mean? Is this a Taylorism or a Londonism? In the American Heritage Electronic Dictionary Copyright 1991 it says: [tick off]. (Slang). To make angry or annoyed: ``got really ticked off at her refusal.'' So is Paul saying that someone made him angry for his having a shouting match? Come to think of it, it wouldn't be all that surprising. Best thoughts and always remember to be nice to mice, peter +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The OED records only the American use of "ticked off" and dates it to 1959. But good old Eric Partridge says that by 1916 it meant (in the British military): "to reproach, upbraid, blame; esp. to reprimand." (A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English, 8th Edition, 1984.) ==============================================================================
[Sorry to prolong a non-categorical thread - I hope I'm not saying anything contentious enough to warrant a reply.] I can state without recourse to dictionaries that in living English English, to tick off is to reprimand, e.g. "Teacher gave me a real ticking off." Paul's usage ("One person has ticked me off for ...") was completely idiomatic. I only found out this year that American English is different - the phrase is used in the "annoy" sense on "Dinosaurs". Steve Vickers ==============================================================================
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