This was a figure of speech used to describe my father's aunt Lucy (1893-1962) - she was renowned as somebody who pretended to cry when she didn't get her own way. Today she might be called a drama queen or an attention seeker. Picture somebody rubbing their fists in their eyes (to hide the lack of tears) and flapping their arms up and down at the same time, almost like wings, and you'll get the idea.
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