adj. — in expression, Newfoundland, Ottawa Valley
to be annoyed or upset with something; usually in the phrase I'm poisoned.
Type: 2. Preservation — The term poison refers to the feeling of being upset, annoyed, disappointed or irritated (see DNE, s.v. "poison" (v)). It appears to be used most commonly in its adjectival form, particularly in the phrasal construction I'm poisoned (see the 1997, 2003 and 2011 quotations). However, it can be used as a verb, describing the action of causing these unpleasant feelings (see the 1924 quotation). This meaning appears to be outlined in one of COD-2's definitions of "poison", which is to 'spoil or destroy (a person's pleasure)' (see COD-2, s.v. "poison" (6)). The term poison is stated to be of Irish English origin (Clarke 2010b: 107), existing as a direct translation of the Irish Gaelic terms "neimh" and "neimhneach", which mean 'poison' and 'peevish, passionate, spiteful', respectively (see DNE, s.v. "poison" (v)).
Clarke (2010b: 150) uses poison as an example of lexicon change in Newfoundland as a result of "waves of 'trendy' or 'slang' vocabulary" that pass through younger speakers via media or the internet. Clarke (2010b: 150) notes that "among younger females, the adjective 'rotted' is a new import to express displeasure or disgust," which is today one indication that poisoned may be on the decline, like so many other traditional terms in Newfoundland.
The term is apparently also used in the Ottawa Valley, which saw considerable Irish and Scottish immigration (see the 2009 and 2011 quotations).
See also DNE, s.v. "poison" (v)).