fit to be tied
Also found in: Dictionary, Thesaurus, Medical, Financial, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.
Related to fit to be tied: so much for, knows no bounds
Like this video? Subscribe to our free daily email and get a new idiom video every day!
fit to be tied
Very angry, as if one needs to be physically restrained. Mom was fit to be tied after I dented her brand-new car.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2015 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
fit to be tied
angry and agitated. (As if needing to be restrained.) Joe was fit to be tied when his wife told him she was leaving. I was fit to be tied when Mary tried to be friendly, after three years of not speaking to me.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
fit to be tied
Furious, enraged, as in I've been waiting for two hours and am fit to be tied. This expression implies anger so extreme that it requires physical restraint. [Late 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.
fit to be tied
AMERICANIf you are fit to be tied, you are very angry. Note: In the first two idioms here, `fit' means healthy and full of energy. Douglas was fit to be tied and made Harry pay back every last dollar. Note: `Fit' here means ready or suitable for a particular purpose.
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012
fit to be tied
very angry. informal 1988 Joan Smith A Masculine Ending He was fit to be tied when I separated from Hugh, and he seems to blame me for the whole thing.
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
fit to be tied
Roused to great anger or indignation; outraged.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
fit to be tied
Extremely angry, enough so to suggest that physical restraint might be indicated to prevent major damage. This expression originated in the late nineteenth century. James Joyce used it in Ulysses (1922), “I was fit to be tied,” one of the more understandable expressions of feeling in that difficult book.
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer
fit to be tied
Very angry and upset. The image is being so agitated that only by being physically restrained, as if in a straightjacket, would a person be prevented from doing something rash and regrettable.
Endangered Phrases by Steven D. Price Copyright © 2011 by Steven D. Price