fed up

F

fed up (idiomatic adjective phrase)
/fɛd ʌp/

Synopsis

The idiom “fed up” means to be irritated, bored, or exhausted by something. It began in Britain as a literal phrase for being fully fed, including in falconry, and shifted in the late nineteenth century into a figurative sense of emotional saturation. By the early twentieth century, especially through military slang, it had settled into its modern meaning of annoyance and frustration.

Meanings

• Very annoyed, irritated, or angry because something has continued too long.
• Tired or bored of a situation or person after repeated frustration.
• Having had enough of something to the point of no longer wanting to deal with it.
• (Older literal use) Completely filled or satisfied with food; no longer wanting more.

Synonyms: annoyed; irritated; sick and tired; exasperated; bored; irritated beyond patience; done with.

Example Sentences

1. After waiting in customer service for an hour, she felt fed up and walked out of the store.
2. He became fed up with his coworker’s constant excuses.
3. They were so fed up with the endless noise outside that they finally moved.
4. The animals were fed up after eating all afternoon, so they lay down quietly (literal).

Origin and History

Falconry Background

One of the earliest explanations for the origin of “fed up” points to the terminology of falconry. When a trained hawk had eaten its reward after a flight or hunt, it was described as being “fed up,” meaning fully satisfied and no longer eager to chase prey. This technical expression formed an early conceptual foundation for the phrase’s later metaphorical leap from physical fullness to emotional saturation.

Literal Usage in Early Print

Beyond falconry, the phrase appears in eighteenth-century British print in its strictly literal sense. Newspapers and regional periodicals used “fed up” to describe people or livestock that were properly fed, fattened, or prepared for sale.

The earliest recoverable printed instance of “fed up” appears in an English newspaper dated 3 May 1764, where it is used in a literal feeding and preparation context. The earliest printed example of the figurative sense appears in 1879, in a London publication employing the intensified form “fed up to the eyelids.” The earliest fully modern example—expressing irritation rather than fullness—comes from 1900 in a first-person military report, where a soldier remarks, “I’m about fed up with it.” These three points mark the evolution from literal, to figurative, to fully idiomatic usage.

Shift Toward Figurative Meaning

By the late nineteenth century, the phrase had begun its transition from describing bodily fullness to describing psychological saturation. Writers employed “fed up” in intensified, figurative forms—such as “fed up to the eyelids”—to express moral weariness or social frustration. These examples demonstrate that the semantic shift was already underway before the phrase settled into its modern meaning.

Establishment of the Modern Sense

Around the turn of the twentieth century, the phrase gained currency in military slang, where soldiers used “fed up” to convey irritation, boredom, and emotional exhaustion. A documented example from 20 October 1900 records a soldier remarking, “I’m about fed up with it,” showing that the contemporary sense—annoyance brought on by overexposure—had become fully established. Its rapid spread into newspapers and general conversation soon made it a standard informal expression.

Geographical Origin

All known early examples and contextual evidence point to Britain as the origin of “fed up.” Both the literal eighteenth-century usages and the later figurative developments appear in British print first, with no competing early evidence from other regions. From there, the expression moved into wider English usage and eventually into international speech.

Interpretation of the Evidence

Taken together, the evidence shows a clear progression: the phrase begins in technical and literal contexts describing physical satiety, then develops an exaggerated figurative form for emotional or social weariness, and finally stabilizes in everyday language as an idiom meaning irritation or frustration. The falconry usage provides a credible semantic bridge between physical satiation and emotional “having had enough,” making the evolution of the phrase both logical and well-supported.

Variants

• fed up with
• fed up of (mainly British)
• fed up to the back teeth (stronger form)
• sick and tired (closely related idiom)

Feeling, Up