fly off the handle

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fly off the handle (informal)

to react in a very angry way to something someone says or does. He really flew off the handle when I suggested selling the house.

See also: fly, handle

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? References in classic literature
I put up with it as long as I could and then joined in and tried to improve it, but this encouraged young George to join in too, and that made a failure of it; because George's voice was just "turning," and when he was singing a dismal sort of bass it was apt to fly off the handle and startle everybody with a most discordant cackle on the upper notes. The Innocents Abroad by Twain, Mark View in context More results

References in classic literature

I put up with it as long as I could and then joined in and tried to improve it, but this encouraged young George to join in too, and that made a failure of it; because George's voice was just "turning," and when he was singing a dismal sort of bass it was apt to fly off the handle and startle everybody with a most discordant cackle on the upper notes.

The Innocents Abroad by Twain, Mark View in context

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flush out
fly
fly blind
fly by the seat of pants
fly in the face of
fly in the ointment
fly into a rage

fly off the handle
fly on the wall
fly the coop
fly-by-night
fly-on-the-wall
fly/leave the nest
fly/show/wave the flag
flying

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