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be a spitfire
常用作主系表结构，描述某人性格急躁，常指女孩或女性，带戏谑或亲切语气。
My sister is a real spitfire when she's tired.
我妹妹累的时候真是个暴脾气。
烈性子的人；脾气暴躁的人
spitfires — plural of spitfire
先理解核心含义，再看它在真实句子里的用法。
烈性子的人；脾气暴躁的人
a highly emotional and quick-tempered person, especially a girl or woman
My sister is a real spitfire when she's tired.
我妹妹累的时候真是个暴脾气。
多指女孩或女子
大炮。
A cannon.
脾气暴烈的人,尤指女子或女孩。
A person with a fiery temper, someone easily provoked to anger, especially a woman or girl.
喷火叶蜂(Perga affinis)的幼虫。
A larva of the spitfire sawfly, Perga affinis.
The new assistant is a real spitfire, but she always gets the job done.
新来的助理真是个烈性子，但她总能完成任务。
Whenever the meeting got tense, the team's spitfire would speak her mind without hesitation.
每当会议气氛紧张时，团队里那位性子火暴的人都会毫不犹豫地说出自己的想法。
People often called the sisters spitfires because they argued loudly over everything.
人们常说这对姐妹是烈性子，因为她们什么事都要大声争吵。
常用作主系表结构，描述某人性格急躁，常指女孩或女性，带戏谑或亲切语气。
My sister is a real spitfire when she's tired.
我妹妹累的时候真是个暴脾气。
like后接名词，表示行为像烈性子一样，带有夸张或比喻色彩。
Don't act like a spitfire; calm down and talk.
别表现得像个暴脾气，冷静下来好好说。
Not this
She spitfires.
Use this
She is a spitfire.
spitfire 是名词，不是动词，不能加 -s 作谓语。要表达“她是个烈性子的人”，需用系动词 be 加冠词 a 再接名词 spitfire。
Not this
She is spitfire.
Use this
She is a spitfire.
spitfire 是可数名词单数，作表语时前面必须有冠词 a。中文没有冠词，容易漏掉；写成 a spitfire 才符合英语规则。
Focus on the distinctions below. Other candidates are kept compact until a reliable usage note is available.
小辣椒；脾气火爆的人
Despite her size, the little spitfire stood up to the bullies.
别看她个子小，这个小辣椒可不怕那些恶霸。
十足的烈性子
I'd think twice before teasing her — she's a real spitfire.
在逗她之前我会先掂量掂量——她可是个十足的烈性子。
年轻的烈性子
The young spitfire already had a reputation for arguing with her teachers.
这个年轻的烈性子已经以和老师顶嘴出了名。
脾气火爆的女孩
She was a spitfire of a girl who never backed down from a fight.
她是个脾气火爆的女孩，从不畏惧争执。
烈性子的人（尤指女子）
She's a real spitfire, but I love her energy.
她真是个烈性子，但我就是喜欢她的活力。
火爆脾气
His spitfire temper often gets him into trouble at work.
他的火爆脾气经常让他工作上惹上麻烦。
气势汹汹地；像烈性子一样
She came at me like a spitfire, demanding an explanation.
她气势汹汹地朝我冲过来，要求一个解释。
Use spitfires naturally, then get feedback on meaning, tone, grammar, and phrasing.
Revisit a common error or keep this word in your review list.
联想：spit=吐，fire=火，想象一个脾气暴躁的人“喷火”的样子，就是spitfire（烈性子的人）。
语域：informal 常见场景：日常口语、文学或影视人物描写 通常用于日常口语或非正式场合，多形容脾气火爆、容易激动的女子，常带有亲切或戏谑色彩。
多指女子或女孩，形容性情刚烈、容易动怒的人。
Dictionary facts from ECDICT, WIKTIONARY.