Dictionary

fly off the handle en · VERB

Pronunciation

• (US) audio

Etymology

From the image of an axe head becoming loose and suddenly flying free of its handle, a vivid metaphor for losing control. The phrase is an early 19th-century American idiom, with printed examples first appearing c. the 1810s–1830s.

Meanings

1. (colloquial, idiomatic) To become very angry or enraged; to throw a fit or go crazy.
   • But he added: “Look, it happens to everybody. I’ve flown off the handle way worse than Elon Musk did in the last 24 hours.” 2025 June 7, Edward Helmore, quoting JD Vance, “Trump warns Musk of ‘very serious consequences’ if he backs Democrats”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
   • My dad flew off the handle when he saw the F grade on my report card.

Forms

Relateds

lose one's temper

Translations (25)

cmn 勃然大怒 (to become very angry) · hu kiakad (to become very angry) · eu bere onetik irten (to become very angry) · lv uzsprāgt gaisā (to become very angry) · hu begurul (to become very angry) · fa از کوره دررفتن (to become very angry) · ca sortir de polleguera (to become very angry) · hu kikel magából (to become very angry) · hu kijön a sodrából (to become very angry) · fi polttaa päreensä (to become very angry) · pt perder as estribeiras (to become very angry) · sv få tuppjuck (to become very angry) · hu bepöccen (to become very angry) · es perder los estribos (to become very angry) · hu kijön a béketűrésből (to become very angry) · hu dühbe jön (to become very angry) · fi menettää malttinsa (to become very angry) · wa monter a sminces (to become very angry) · hu felmegy a pumpa (to become very angry) · hu felkapja a vizet (to become very angry) · it uscire dai gangheri (to become very angry) · fr sortir de ses gonds (to become very angry) · de aus der Haut fahren (to become very angry) · wa potchî foû d’ ses clicotes (to become very angry) · hu dühbe gurul (to become very angry)