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I came across the passage "My mum would get in a flap...", so I wonder: what does "get in a flap" mean?

I've found that "flap" means, as a noun: 'An excited state of agitation'. Of course, there are other meanings, but I found this one to be the nearest in context. I still can't quite figure out the correct explanation though.

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    This uses get in the sense "to become or cause to become or act as specified" (Collins, 5) and flap in the sense you have identified.
    – StoneyB on hiatus
    Commented Mar 15, 2016 at 23:28
  • Alternatively, the writer's mum climbed inside a thin, flat, hinged opening on a regular basis...(note to non-native speakers: this is a joke. Please do not take it seriously XD)
    – John Clifford
    Commented Mar 15, 2016 at 23:35
  • Is that in addition to or in place of the one for the cat?
    – Peter
    Commented Mar 16, 2016 at 13:57

2 Answers 2

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To

get in a flap

is to be agitated, worried, or excited (not in a good way) about something.
It is a typical BrE expression.

It can have the same meaning as

Don't get your knickers in a twist.

It is the opposite of

chill out
calm down

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  • I got it, I think that "get in flap" can be replaced by "get nervous" too.
    – O.Badr
    Commented Mar 16, 2016 at 6:43
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"Get in a flap" means become worried or excited or be agitated. It is an informal use.

You shouldn't get in such a flap about things.

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