out of sorts
Irritable or somewhat unwell, with vague medical symptoms.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“He's been out of sorts all morning.”
“I feel out of sorts because I did not sleep well last night.”
“You look a bit out of sorts; do you have a headache?”
“She felt out of sorts after the long flight and went straight to bed.”
“The baby has been out of sorts since his vaccinations, crying more than usual and refusing to eat his lunch.”
“My coworker seems out of sorts today, so I will wait until tomorrow to ask him for that favor.”
“The rainy weather always makes me feel out of sorts and less productive than I usually am at the office.”
“Though he could not name what ailed him, he had been out of sorts for days, listless and prone to sudden irritation.”
Derived from the technical vocabulary of the printing house, where a sort refers to a single piece of metal type for a specific character. The condition describes a compositor who has exhausted his supply of a particular letter, thus rendering him unable to complete his work and likely in a state of professional irritation.
Last updated August 10, 2026