|
|
Definition of Fly off the handle
1. Verb. Get very angry and fly into a rage. "Spam makes me go ballistic"
Generic synonyms: Rage
Derivative terms: Blowup
Definition of Fly off the handle
1. Verb. (idiomatic) to become very angry or enraged; to throw a fit or go crazy ¹
¹ Source: wiktionary.com
Lexicographical Neighbors of Fly Off The Handle
Literary usage of Fly off the handle
Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:
1. An American Glossary by Richard Hopwood Thornton (1912)
"107 1833 Ant Keziah was in such a pucker to have everything nice, I didn't know
but she would fly off the handle.—Seba Smith, ' Major Jack Downing,' p. ..."
2. The Spirit of Labor by Hutchins Hapgood (1907)
"I feared I might fly off the handle at the hypocrisy of society. And, then, too,
I thought I would be bored. I wouldn't have anything to work for except ..."
3. Lawyers' Reports Annotated by Lawyers Co-operative Publishing Company (1905)
"575 In consequence of what is inevitable, the head may, and at times docs, fly
off the handle of the ax, without negligence. No presumption of negligence ..."
4. Dictionary of Americanisms: A Glossary of Words and Phrases Usually Regarded by John Russell Bartlett (1877)
"To fly off the handle is to fly into a passion. To go off the handle is to give
up the ghost, to die. The allusion is to the head of an axe. ..."
5. The Writings in Prose and Verse of Rudyard Kipling by Rudyard Kipling (1899)
"How are we to do our work if you fly off the handle that way?" "I didn't fly off
the handle," said the screw, twirling huskily at the end of the screw-shaft ..."
Other Resources:
