当一只猫生气的时候，往往会把背拱起来，嘴里还发出呼噜呼噜的声音，显然它随时准备施展它那爪子的威力。美国一个常用语就出自猫的这种形像。这个常用语就是：to get one's back up。To get one's back up就是“生气”的意思。下面这句话是一个妻子在说他的丈夫：

One thing really gets my back up -- the way my husband¹ leaves² his clothes on the bed or on the floor so I have to pick³ them up all the time.

我的丈夫总是把衣服往床上、地上乱扔，我老得把它们拣起来，真叫我生气。

可是，妻子的批评使做丈夫的很生气。他对朋友说：

And there's one thing that really gets my back up: my wife⁴ nagging⁵ at me to hang⁶ my clothes up as⁷ soon as I walk in the house at night after a hard day at the office."

每天在办公室辛苦地工作了一天，可是晚上一进家门，我老婆就开始唠叨，要我把衣服挂好。这实在让我生气。