fly off the handle
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Examples
I only asked her what she paid for that dull - looking dress and she flew off the handle at me.
Some of these escapades upset Mrs Cohen, who was given to ‘ flying off the handle,’ in Rosengarten's phrase.
British National Corpus sentence via the MAGPIE corpus (CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30)
Sources & notes
Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Figurative class: Euphemism (PIE-English corpus, CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-31).
Common questions
What does “fly off the handle” mean?
Get angry.
Is “fly off the handle” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.