feel one's oats
Idioms-
Feel frisky or animated, as in School was out, and they were feeling their oats . This usage alludes to the behavior of a horse after having been fed. [Early 1800s]
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Display self-importance, as in He was feeling his oats, bossing everyone around . [Mid-1800s]
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
To feel one’s oats, more or less.
From Los Angeles Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.