It was as though the more he yelled, the more ferocious the gravel voice sounded and the more the arms were flayed around the more intimidated his prey would become and he'd finally use the word that his attacker so wanted him to whimper - crisis.
Angry Andrew Little and his band of weary warriors have clearly decided the new year would force the admission from the suits and garish colours flashing at them from the opposite side of the bear pit.
Crisis, it's such an easy word to roll off the tongue, as Little has repeatedly shown us as he chucks it at the Government and becomes frustrated when they refuse to allow it to pass their lips.
We're going to hear it much more this year as the Half Gallon, Quarter Acre, Pavlova paradise most of them grew up in turns into the land of milk and money.
Of course there's a bloody housing crisis, but it's not going to get any better by Bill English collapsing like a Pav taken out of the oven too early and going all gooey.