What it means
Steaming means properly worked up. In British slang it usually lands in two lanes: very drunk or really angry. If someone's steaming drunk, they're absolutely gone. If they say they're steaming, they're fuming. Context tells you which one you're dealing with, and sometimes the chaos gives you both at once.
Usage examples
"Jess turned up to Spoons, launched her pint, then clocked her ex flirting with her mate. She was proper steaming, and demanded chips immediately."
"After the works do at the pub in Sheffield half the office was steaming by ten, the senior partner tripped over the chair and the office manager sang two Adele songs by the kitchen door at midnight."
"Mum was steaming after Dad forgot the anniversary again, she stood by the cooker in Cardiff with her arms crossed and made him sleep on the sofa for two nights without saying a single word."
"He got caught chatting rubbish outside the chippy and was absolutely steaming, could barely work his keys."
"Don't ask her about the group chat, mate, she's still steaming after what Kelly said last night."
Where it comes from
It grows out of the literal idea of steam, heat, and pressure building up till something's practically hissing. English has used steaming figuratively for intensity since at least the 19th century, and in modern British slang it settled into two common tracks: boiling with anger or being heavily drunk.
Other ways to say it
Editors of this term
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