"I heard the fur was flying at the office this morning."

Help me settle an argument guys. Please tell me what you understand by the <fur was flying> expression above.

catfight. 'nuff said.

Yep. Means folks was fightin'

More 'n 'nuff said now.

Merci mes choux but grrrrr the argument is not won yet, now he's saying that I didn`t ask whether it is a common expression or not. Is it in you neck of the woods?

Very common down here, bel.

Provenance - animals (with fur) fighting. Usage known here, but rarely used these days.

Certainly common enough here to be understood by pretty much anyone.

Don't know, we don't fight in New York.

Dear inselpeter: what you mean is that in New York everybody has been in so many fights they have no more fur to lose.

they have not more fur to lose

Than whom?

wwh says, "they have no more fur to lose."

inselpeter says, "'they have not more fur to lose' Than whom?"

Malaquote? Or surreptitious editing? What would the latter be called? A bonamisquote?

[tongue firmly in cheek emoticon]

Now how did that happen?!

I guess you're right, wwh, we New Yorkers love to pick a fight.

Very common in my youth. Don't hear it much anymore.
More's the pity ... it sure brings up an image, doesn't it!
wow

I've heard it in most of the places I've lived, in various ways. "Now the fur is really flying!" being most common for sideline commentary.

You are all too precious and I thank you a bunch.

What fer?!

En français, l'expression correspondante serait: "Ils (elles) étaient en train de se crêper le chignon"

Au Québec, we'd say...mettre de la broue dans son toupette.

Which is translated as "put foam in her bangs"; which sounds more comical than fur flying sounds agressive.

"put foam in her bangs"

this issue was addressed recently in "Something about Mary"

Dear belMarduk: is the French word "la broue" related to English word "brew" meaning beer,etc.?

Broue is used only in French Québec (the proper word being mousse) and in no other French speaking country. I can only find it in my dictionary of Québec colloquialisms. The etymology is not included.

I always assumed it was extrapolated from brouiller, which means mix up vigorously. As with most things that are mixed up vigorously, (egg whites for example), a foam is created.

Brew, as a term for beer, is not commonly used by Québec Anglophones. I wonder if that term is a U.S. thing. And, one thing you do not what on your brew is a lot of broue. Fire THAT bartender