fighting word
noun
Usually fighting words.
language that arouses rage in an antagonist.
Words nearby fighting word
fighting chance,
fighting cock,
fighting fish,
fighting french,
fighting top,
fighting word,
fighting words,
figjam,
figment,
figment of one's imagination,
figueres
Idioms and Phrases with fighting words
fighting words
A statement bound to start a quarrel or fight. It is often expressed as them's fighting words, as in You say your father's smarter than mine? Them's fighting words. The ungrammatical use of them's for “those are” emphasizes the folksy tone of this colloquialism, first recorded in Ring Lardner's Gullible's Travels (1917).