Literal Translation
Milk soup
Actual Meaning
Someone who is hot tempered, volatile, gets angry very suddenly
Etymology
This expression, which describes a person who tends to suddenly become angry, often excessively so, originated in the 18th century.
At that time, milk soup was a dish made from milk and pieces of bread or cereal.
The expression, which can be found in particular in texts by the Comte de Caylus in 1737, simply describes the state of milk when it is placed on the fire. It heats up slowly, then boils in the blink of an eye, before calming down again. Just like ‘hot-tempered’ people, who always end up calming down after a few minutes.