informal. : to lose control of one’s emotions : to become very angry He tends to fly off the handle when people disagree with him.
Contents
- 1 Why do people say fly off the handle?
- 2 Do you fly off the handle?
- 3 What is the phrase tongue in cheek mean?
- 4 What is the meaning of he flew off the handle?
- 5 What does the idiom pie in the sky mean?
- 6 What does the idiom on the rocks mean?
- 7 What is the meaning of completely at sea?
- 8 What does it mean to have a chip on your shoulder?
- 9 What does cheeky mean in British slang?
- 10 What does the term tonguing mean?
- 11 What does the phrase down in the mouth mean?
- 12 Was a whole new ball game?
- 13 Where does the saying keep the wolf from the door come from?
Why do people say fly off the handle?
Fly off the handle is an American phrase that comes from the way an axe-head which has come loose will fly off of its handle in an unpredictable manner and strike any innocent person or object in its way.
Do you fly off the handle?
to react in a very angry way to something that someone says or does: He’s extremely irritable – he flies off the handle at the slightest thing.
What is the phrase tongue in cheek mean?
: characterized by insincerity, irony, or whimsical exaggeration. tongue in cheek. adverb. Definition of tongue in cheek (Entry 2 of 2): with insincerity, irony, or whimsical exaggeration.
What is the meaning of he flew off the handle?
phrase. If you fly off the handle, you suddenly and completely lose your temper. [informal] He flew off the handle at the slightest thing.
What does the idiom pie in the sky mean?
: an unrealistic enterprise or prospect of prosperity.
What does the idiom on the rocks mean?
Ruined, spoiled, as in Six months after the wedding, their marriage was on the rocks. This expression, alluding to a ship running aground on rocks and breaking apart, has been used figuratively for other disasters since the late 1800s.
What is the meaning of completely at sea?
Someone who’s at sea is completely lost or deeply confused. The phrase at sea — or all at sea — has a nautical source: before modern navigational systems, when a ship was at sea, it was out of sight of land and therefore in a dangerous, uncertain position.
What does it mean to have a chip on your shoulder?
: to have an angry or unpleasant attitude or way of behaving caused by a belief that one has been treated unfairly in the past He has had a chip on his shoulder ever since he didn’t get the promotion he was expecting.
What does cheeky mean in British slang?
Cheeky: To be cheeky is to be flippant or somewhat of a smart aleck. Considering British humor, I’d say most people here are a bit cheeky.
What does the term tonguing mean?
the manipulation of the tongue in playing a wind instrument to interrupt the tone and produce a staccato effect.
What does the phrase down in the mouth mean?
or down at the mouth. Informal. depressed; unhappy; discouraged.
Was a whole new ball game?
If you describe a situation as a whole new ball game, or a different ball game, you mean that it is completely different from what came before. If military force were to be used, then that would be a completely different ball game. Note: `Ball game’ is often used in American English to refer to a game of baseball.
Where does the saying keep the wolf from the door come from?
The phrase was originally “keep the wolf from the gate” but has evolved into the phrase that we use today. An example of the phrase was used by John Hardyng as early as 1543. It can be found in the Chronicle of John Hardyng. “By whiche he maye the wolf werre frome the gate …”
