Green’s Dictionary of Slang

shirty adj.

irritable, angry, tetchy.

1846		Swell’s Night Guide 61: Doesn’t Bill stand chaff well – out and out – don’t get shirty at all.
1852		Kendal Mercury 17 Apr. 6/1: His palls they vas shirty, and swore to a man / To niver drop prigging.
1861		(con. 1840s–50s) H. Mayhew London Labour and London Poor III 137/2: They knocked his back as they went over, and he got shirtey.
1866		Wild Boys of London I 359/1: I won’t get shirty, though you might make a feller feel so.
1873		Sl. Dict.
1883		Eve. Teleg. (Dundee) 10 Feb. 4/3: The story had got there before me and troth, the boys enjoyed it [But] I was not in the least shirted, no matter what they said.
1885		Observer and Freelance (Wellington) 29 Aug. 9/2: Who was the Kaukpaka young gentleman that got ‘shirty’ because T. did him out of a dance.
1889		B. Mitford Fire Trumpet I 102: Swaart Pexter looked rather shirty and tried to laugh it off.
1897		W.S. Maugham Liza of Lambeth (1966) 24: You ain’t shirty ’cause I kissed yer last night?
1899–1900		H. Lawson ‘A Double Buggy at Lahey’s Creek’ in Roderick (1972) 589: You needn’t get shirty with me.
1905		‘Doss Chiderdoss’ ‘A Find’ Sporting Times 18 Feb. 1/4: ‘Will you share my lot?’ he faltered, for an angry ‘No!’ he feared, / But the lady seemed to be in no way ‘shirty.’.
1911		L. Stone Jonah 126: Me! ’E niver rouses on me. W’en ’e gits shirty, I just laugh, an’ ’e can’t keep it up.
1923		Wodehouse Inimitable Jeeves 221: He could hardly speak, he was so shirty.
1930		E. Waugh Vile Bodies 215: Seemed rather shirty about it. Said he’d go and look for you.
1943		R. Llewellyn None But the Lonely Heart 96: ‘No,’ says Tiger, proper shirty.
1951		D. Stivens Jimmy Brockett 111: Don’t get shirty, but I know you’re in a bit of a jam at present, but I’ll give you first offer of the shares.
1960		J. Iggulden Storms of Summer 158: I reckon we got time for a quick beer. That’s if that shirty copper of theirs has his back turned.
1978		(con. 1940s) J.G. Farrell Singapore Grip 117: They get shirty if you try to mix things socially.
1986		F. Taylor Auf Wiedersehen Pet Two 272: The Law Society can get very shirty when there’s obvious bending of the rules.
1998		K. Sampson Awaydays 101: God forbid that O’Connor should be getting shirty with the Texas branch.
2005		B. Hare Urban Grimshaw 74: Don’t get shirty, mush.
2014		T. Black Artefacts of the Dead [ebook] Well, he’s been playing the big innocent . . . and being really shiorty with it.

In derivatives

shirtily (adv.)

angrily, tetchily.

1879		‘’Arry on the ’Igher Education of Women’ Punch 5 Apr. in P. Marks (2006) 151: Yours shirtily, ’Arry.
1974		P. Cave Mama 113: ‘Seems a bloody con to me,’ he mumbled shirtily [OED].
1981		W. Boyd Good Man in Africa 114: ‘What of ice?’ Morgan asked tersely. ‘Ice ‘e dey finish,’ the barman snapped back equally shirtily and turned away.
2000		Guardian Rev. 19 Feb. 2: Smallweed shirtily ripostes.
2008		posting at andrew-garfield.com 29 July 🌐 Andy ‘was given a cloth visor out of pity, which was nowhere near as exciting and which I rejected shirtily.’ (Yes, shirtily, British slang for crabbily.).

shirtiness (n.)

irritation, ill temper.

1936

Wodehouse ‘Good-bye to All Cats’ in Young Men in Spats 138: He did give her obvious shirtiness a certain measure of attention.