Thanks to my Uncle Spunky and my Other Mother, I've found the correct word to describe my condition in the state of Florida:
Agita: Heartburn, acid indigestion, an upset stomach or, by extension, a general feeling of upset. The word is Italian-American slang derived from the Italian "agitare" meaning "to agitate."
Turns out, it was a word used by my Italian grandmother, and not somebody's Jewish grandmother, during the years of my youth. I knew it was out there, I just didn't know it started with an "a". "A general feeling of upset", yeah, that sounds about right.
So, now I want to know: how does one spell the word which, phonetically, looks like this:
botch-ah-guh-LOOP
Cuz that's another goodie I used to hear from the Italian side of the family, and I've used it myself over the years, not really understanding what it means, but I'm pretty sure it's what you call someone when you don't want to say "jackass" or "son of a bitch". Or, it's what you say in moments of frustration when you've got no one to blame but yourself. For example, you're in the kitchen making a big pot of gravy and you stick a spoon in the pot to get a taste and drop the spoon so it sinks to the bottom of the pot. "Aya, botchagaLOOP!"
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