on the rampage
on the rampage
Causing great destruction, disruption, or chaos; behaving very violently or aggressively. Many ancient artifacts were destroyed while enemy forces were on the rampage in the holy city. Our teacher went on the rampage this morning, screaming at the kids for their misbehavior.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2015 Farlex, Inc, 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