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Get one's goat
Get one's goat
Get one's goat : Phrases
Meaning:
Invoke an angry and emotional response; to aggravate, irritate or annoy.
Example:
People in cars often provide hand signals to communicate their dissatisfaction with your driving. They are trying to get your goat, so just smile and wave.
Origin:
This may be a mispronunciation of get your goad. A goad is a pointed rod used to urge on livestock. A modern equivalent of a goad is the cattle prod.
To goad is to stimulate into action. The phrase goad you on comes to mind. To get your goat (goad) then is to be successful in stimulating a response.
Alternative: The word gut down through the years was altered to goat. When something gets your gut, it upsets you and ties your stomach in knots.
Alternative: Hyperactive racehorses were often given goats as stablemates because their presence tended to have a calming effect on the horses. After the horse became attached to the goat, it got very upset when its companion disappeared - making it run poorly on the track. In the 19th century, when a devious gambler wanted a horse to lose, he would get the horse's goat and take it away the night before the race, thus agitating the horse.