kiri kawa
1. (modifier) short-tempered, quick-tempered, irritable, irascible, cranky, crotchety.
He wā he kiri kawa tōna wairua; he wā anō he tangata marae, he tangata nohopuku (TTR 1990:237). / Sometimes he was very short-tempered, and at other times he was generous or reclusive.
Synonyms: āritarita, ārita, whanewhane, kiriwetiweti