on a rampage
Causing great destruction, disruption, or chaos; behaving very violently or aggressively. Many ancient artifacts were destroyed while enemy forces were on a rampage in the holy city. Our teacher went on a rampage this morning, screaming at the kids for their misbehavior.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
on a rampage
Behaving violently, as in There was a near riot after the game, when some of the spectators went on a rampage. This term comes from the Old Scots verb ramp, meaning "to storm and rage." [Mid-1800s]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
on a/the rampage
Violently excited; furious. This term appears to have come from the Old Scots verb to ramp, meaning “to storm and rage.” The current cliché was known in the mid-nineteenth century. Dickens used it in Great Expectations (1861), in which Joe Gargery tells the hero, “On the Rampage, Pip, and Off the Rampage, Pip; such is Life!”
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer