Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2012 March 19

= March 19 =

use of the word DANDER to refer to animal/bird detritus
I came across DANDER in a recent Reader's Digest book, where it was clearly referring to the dust deposited by animals; but I had never before come across this usage of the word, which to me, and all the dictionaries I could find in the house, list as a US expression relating to one's temper (or lost if it). (I live in the UK; so perhaps this is another common US usage that I'm not unaware of.) I found the 'dander' link in Wikipedia, but there's no explanation regarding the derivation. Do you know when this alternative usage came into being, and how or why it came to be used this way? Ditton25 (talk) 08:46, 19 March 2012 (UTC)


 * According to the OED, dander in the sense of a "ruffled or angry temper" is "[c]onjectured by some to be a fig. use of dander n.3, dandruff, scurf; but possibly fig. of dander n.2, ferment". It appears that dander in the sense of the dust deposited by furry animals is a variant of dandruff, but OED does not state when the word first appeared. — Cheers, Jack Lee  –talk– 09:28, 19 March 2012 (UTC)
 * At my home in the southeast US, we speak of people being allergic to cat dander. I am not aware of other uses of the word.  Falconus p  t   c 09:38, 19 March 2012 (UTC)
 * Me too. This is the first time I have heard of dander being used to mean a "ruffled or angry temper". The OED reports that this is originally a US colloquial usage. — Cheers, Jack Lee  –talk– 10:21, 19 March 2012 (UTC)
 * The expression "to get one's dander up" is occasionally heard. --   Jack of Oz   [your turn]  11:31, 19 March 2012 (UTC)
 * It's heard in the UK too, although a bit archaic. I've never heard it in any other context. Alansplodge (talk) 16:33, 19 March 2012 (UTC)
 * Yes, kind of an old-fashioned expression. Nowadays someone probably wouldn't say, "it's getting my dander up", they'd say, "it's harshing my mellow." ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 23:13, 19 March 2012 (UTC)

It may have been an assumed saying for decades. Everyone knew what animal dander was, and animals 'ruffle' when angered; thus 'getting ones dander up' meant it got higher with feathers or fur?--Canoe1967 (talk) 11:09, 23 March 2012 (UTC)