A question to Brits

Foggy day   Sat Feb 20, 2010 8:48 pm GMT
Hi,

Molly`s fed up because she hurt her leg when she was jogging this morning.

fed up
Definition:
having had enough: having reached the limits of tolerance or patience with somebody or something ( informal )
bored, annoyed or disappointed, especially by something that you have experienced for too long.

And a bit different:

12th September 2008, 11:12 PM
JaneB Location: Leeds UK
Native language: English - UK
"I'm fed up" means a bit miserable/down/blue
http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=494513

A bit miserable/down/blue. A bit !
Should I believe the lady?

I wonder if "fed up" can altogether lose the minutest implication of having had enough (of bad luck/ life that sucks etc).

Thanks.
Dalai Lama   Sat Feb 20, 2010 10:37 pm GMT
FUCK OFF ROBIN!
Knowledge transfer   Sun Feb 21, 2010 1:31 am GMT
Dalai Lama teh epic fail.

pwned!
Dalai Lama   Sun Feb 21, 2010 12:23 pm GMT
wahtever
as long as your not robin
@Foggy   Sun Feb 21, 2010 9:51 pm GMT
The state of being "fed up" (miserable; bored) results from the process of reaching "the limits of tolerance or patience [or interest] with somebody or something".

So the two uses are related.
Billy   Mon Feb 22, 2010 6:27 pm GMT
Yes, you should believe her. Fed up means bored/annoyed or a combination of the two emotions. A bit - means a little/a part in the UK. E.g: She was a bit silly. Just a bit. He was in a bit of bother. Do you want a bit of cake?

Just a bit British!
Foggy day   Mon Feb 22, 2010 7:49 pm GMT
@Foggy and Billy - please where are you from?

A Russian lady who teaches English insists that in informal BE “fed up” just means “upset” or “unhappy” and is devoid of the seme of satiety with sth negative.

An American and an Australian did not agree, so we want a few Brits to say a word.
Does the original sentence (Molly …) sound common to British ears? Can I always substitute “upset/unhappy” with “fed up”?

Billy, I think “fed up” is too strong to mean “a bit/a little down/blue”. Isn’t it?
Damian London SW15   Mon Feb 22, 2010 10:33 pm GMT
Here in the UK the idiomatic expression "fed up" is a shortened version of the more correct "fed up to the back teeth", and in many instances has now been widely replaced with "pissed off with" or "pissed off about", meaning the same thing - intensely annoyed or irritated in the sense of being pushed to the limit of patience and endurance about anything or anyone.

"Fed up the the back teeth" - the most likely origin of this expression is something on the lines, metaphorically speaking, of having had far too much food for you to stomach and digest - which as we all know can literally make you sick - in other words you've had more than you can take (tolerate) about some situation or the actions of some individual.

Using my native Britspeak here - that's my penny's worth on this one.
@Foggy   Mon Feb 22, 2010 11:22 pm GMT
From the UK, FD.

Yes, "fed up" on its own can mean "a bit depressed"; but it usually implies that something in particular has caused the slight depression.

Before the metaphorical sense predominated, "to be fed up with" could be used to mean "to be surfeited with", or simply "to be fattened up with", "to be nourished on", often in the context of livestock or sick people.

It began to appear in print with the sense "bored with" in the 1890s. Although some sources suggest that it derives from "fed up to the back teeth", e.g. Etymology Online, this phrase does not begin to appear in print till the early part of the 20th century. I would therefore say that the "back teeth" version is an exaggerated extension of the original phrase.
@Foggy   Mon Feb 22, 2010 11:29 pm GMT
By the way, it hasn't been "widely replaced" by "pissed off with", as Damian suggests. The phrases have different connotations: "pissed off with" implies a more vigorous attitude towards the annoying thing than "fed up with" (which couldn't really be paraphrased as "intensely annoyed").

"Fed up of" is now a common alternative version in the UK.
Foggy day   Tue Feb 23, 2010 10:03 pm GMT
Quite substantial, Damian and @Foggy, thank you.

Yet you've ignored two important questions, I dare remind you:

1. Does the original sentence (Molly …) sound common to British ears?
2. Can I always substitute “upset/unhappy” with “fed up” in any context?
@Foggy   Tue Feb 23, 2010 10:31 pm GMT
1. Yes, it's ok.
2. Only if you're happy to change the meaning. "Upset" implies too much perturbation. "Unhappy" suggests a serious emotion.

"Being fed up" is at about the same emotional level as grumbling or feeling some kind of slight discomfort. If Molly tells me she's fed up, I can be quite confident that she's not suicidal.
Uriel   Wed Feb 24, 2010 4:11 am GMT
Weird. To me, "fed up" means angry, pissed off, frustrated, and supremely irate. There isn't even the slightest smidge of depression about it.
Foggy day   Wed Feb 24, 2010 5:41 am GMT
Yeah, isn’t it, Uriel.
A person who’s fed up is on the brink of vomiting, but Brits seem to somehow reject the analogy.
Quintus   Wed Feb 24, 2010 10:51 am GMT
Yes, but "fed up" always connotes a passive sort of anger or dissatisfaction, doesn't it ?- It does not quite amount to an outwardly furious feeling or any of the strongest emotions whereby one must necessarily react against the source of one's frustration, so that in itself might involve some degree of depression.

Actually, the phrase itself is only used in the passive voice, as one never says, "They fed me up" (for example).