Meaning:
Rowdy, boisterous, full of youthful energy.
Background:
The earliest citation I've found is from 1936 in John Steinbeck's novel In
Dubious Battle:
"Listen, mister," London said, "them guys is so full of piss and vinegar
they'll skin you if you show that slick suit outside."
Steinbeck was clearly pleased with the phrase (although it is unlikely that
he coined it himself) and repeated the use of it 1938 in his better known
novel The Grapes of Wrath:
Grampa walked up and slapped Tom on the chest, and his eyes grinned with
affection and pride. "How are ya, Tommy?"
"O.K.," said Tom. "How ya keepin' yaself?"
"Full a piss an' vinegar," said Grampa.
Peter B. Kyne's 1922 novel "They Also Serve" includes what seems to be a
straightforward polite alternative to `piss and vinegar':
"He's full of pep and vinegar and wild for exercise."
Vinegar has been in the language as the name of the familiar liquid since the
12th century. During the 1920s vinegar was used to mean vitality and energy
and that's the meaning in `piss and vinegar' and `pep and vinegar'. At that
time many phrases indicating a general perkiness and vitality entered the
language, often for no other reason than linguistic exuberance.
- www.phrases.org.uk [edited]
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I have personally witnessed two types after a certain age, let's say 70. The
first waste away in bitterness and fear despite of having all the care they
need. The second, oblivious to the wonders of high-tech and modern medicine, run
around full of piss and vinegar till the end.
