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The oldest meaning of "spitting feathers" is derived from an even older phrase with the same meaning: "spitting white"--both of which mean "extremely thirsty". Other similar terms are "spitting cotton" and "having a mouthful of feathers".
"Shakespeare uses the latter (spitting white) in Henry IV, Part 2, 1597:
Falstaff: ... I brandish any thing but a bottle, I would I might never spit white again.
The invaluable Notes and Queries (A Medium of Inter-communication for Literary Men and General Readers), for January 1865, makes a link between the two terms:
"Surely Falstaff's spitting white is what, in Lancashire low life, is called 'spitting feathers'. A man, who has been drinking is feverish, his mouth is dry, and his saliva white."
I believe "drinking" here is being used to refer to consumption of alcohol, which does make one dehydrated. Otherwise, the above quote doesn't make sense.
The second meaning of "spitting feathers", which is "to be furious", apparently resulted in confusion between the terms "spitting feathers" and "spitting blood". This definition of the term is much more recent.
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