Feelings - Losing One's Temper

Explore English idioms that relate to losing one's temper with examples like "go ballistic" and "hot under the collar".

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to throw a wobbly

[phrase]

to get extremely angry, upset, or frustrated and behave in an uncontrolled manner

Ex: He threw a wobbly when the hotel said they had lost his reservation.

to rant and rave

[phrase]

to display one's anger or frustration by complaining or shouting, particularly for a while

Ex: He ranted and raved for half an hour about the terrible service.

to scream blue murder

[phrase]

to show one's disagreement, complaint, pain, or anger by shouting or screaming very loudly and in length

Ex: She screamed blue murder when she found out her car had been towed.

a short fuse

[phrase]

one's tendency to suddenly become enraged due to having low tolerance

Ex: Be careful what you say to him; he has a short fuse.

to go through the roof

[phrase]

to become extremely angry, agitated, or upset

Ex: My dad went through the roof when he saw the dent in the car.

worked up

[phrase]

(of a person) very angry or upset about something unpleasant that has happened

Ex: He got all worked up when he heard the news about the delay.

(as) red as a cherry

[phrase]

used to refer to a situation in which one becomes extremely angry, causing one's face to turn red

Ex: He turned red as a cherry when he heard they had blamed him for the mistake.

to make one's hackles rise

[phrase]

to do something that makes someone become extremely angry

Ex: His condescending tone made my hackles rise immediately.

to see red

[phrase]

to suddenly become enraged and uncontrollably angry

Ex: He saw red when he found out someone had tampered with his project.

(as) mad as a hornet

[phrase]

used to describe someone who suddenly becomes very angry and is unable to stay calm

Ex: He was mad as a hornet when he found out they had changed the plan without telling him.

to fly off the handle

[phrase]

to suddenly become angry

Ex: He flew off the handle when he saw the broken window.

to blow a fuse

[phrase]

to suddenly lose one's temper and become extremely angry

Ex: My father blew a fuse when he saw the broken TV.

to foam at the mouth

[phrase]

to become extremely furious about something

Ex: He was foaming at the mouth when he found out they had deleted his files.

hot under the collar

[phrase]

extremely furious or upset

Ex: He got hot under the collar when his team lost the match.

fit to be tied

[phrase]

(of a person) severely irritated or enraged

Ex: He was fit to be tied after his colleague took credit for his work.

to go ballistic

[phrase]

to suddenly become extremely angry

Ex: My dad went ballistic when he saw the dent in his car.

to do one's nut

[phrase]

to become really angry in a way that causes one to act uncontrollably

Ex: He did his nut when he found out someone had deleted the files.

to lose one's temper

[phrase]

to suddenly become uncontrollably angry

Ex: He lost his temper when the meeting ran longer than expected.

boiling point

[noun]

a state of extreme anger or intensity

Ex: He was already close to his boiling point after the second mistake.

Feelings
Happiness	Excitement	Sadness or Discontent	Unhappiness & Disappointment
Anger	Rage	Losing One's Temper	Annoyance
Irritation	Fear & Terror	Anticipation	Shame & Embarrassment

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