trigger happy

Slang Dictionary

trigger-happy definition


  1. mod.
    eager to fire a gun; eager to shoot someone or something. : Rocko is sort of trigger-happy. Watch out.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases

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 © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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