pepper pot

Meanings

1. A small container with a perforated top used for sprinkling ground pepper.
2. A mushroom, Myriostoma coliforme.
3. A soup made of tripe, vegetables and dumplings, seasoned with pepper.
4. A person who is hot tempered; a feisty or argumentative person.

Etymology

The mushroom sense (sense 2) arose because the mature fruiting body of the mushroom resembles a literal pepper pot (sense 1) and the spores that fly out of it resemble the granules of pepper being dispensed. The feisty-person sense (sense 4) arose because such a person figuratively adds spice to life, like a literal pepper pot (sense 1) does.