fly off the handle
idiom
informal
: to lose control of one's emotions : to become very angry
He tends to fly off the handle when people disagree with him.
Examples of fly off the handle in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The Giants of course need to stay disciplined, especially because Daboll is known to fly off the handle on game days to his own detriment.
—
Pat Leonard, New York Daily News, 5 Aug. 2024
Your week is all about the attempt to maintain a semblance of normalcy while everyone else is flying off the handle.
—Jennifer Culp, Them, 2 Aug. 2024
Harvey, 21, allegedly flew off the handle, throwing two televisions to the floor, shattering them.
—Elizabeth Keogh, New York Daily News, 14 May 2024
In Season 2, Tommy’s family, including his older brother JP (Anthony Flemming III) and his nephew D-Mac (Lucien Cambric), keep him from flying off the handle completely.
—Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 31 Aug. 2023
The donors would get someone less liable to fly off the handle and, for that matter, less likely to pursue personal pet policies (trade wars) and vendettas.
—Alex Shephard, The New Republic, 1 Aug. 2023
In fact, some games, and even particular game systems and franchises, are more likely than others to make people fly off the handle.
—Eric Griffith, PCMAG, 22 Aug. 2022
This digital monster that has taught the culture how to overreact and fly off the handle needs to be tamed.
—Washington Post, 5 Oct. 2021
Jen briefly tried to express her appreciation to Heather, only to fly off the handle again about six hours later and scream at everyone in Las Vegas about… being friends with Whitney?
—Jodi Walker, EW.com, 25 Feb. 2021
Pat Leonard, New York Daily News, 5 Aug. 2024
Your week is all about the attempt to maintain a semblance of normalcy while everyone else is flying off the handle.
—Jennifer Culp, Them, 2 Aug. 2024
Harvey, 21, allegedly flew off the handle, throwing two televisions to the floor, shattering them.
—Elizabeth Keogh, New York Daily News, 14 May 2024
In Season 2, Tommy’s family, including his older brother JP (Anthony Flemming III) and his nephew D-Mac (Lucien Cambric), keep him from flying off the handle completely.
—Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 31 Aug. 2023
The donors would get someone less liable to fly off the handle and, for that matter, less likely to pursue personal pet policies (trade wars) and vendettas.
—Alex Shephard, The New Republic, 1 Aug. 2023
In fact, some games, and even particular game systems and franchises, are more likely than others to make people fly off the handle.
—Eric Griffith, PCMAG, 22 Aug. 2022
This digital monster that has taught the culture how to overreact and fly off the handle needs to be tamed.
—Washington Post, 5 Oct. 2021
Jen briefly tried to express her appreciation to Heather, only to fly off the handle again about six hours later and scream at everyone in Las Vegas about… being friends with Whitney?
—Jodi Walker, EW.com, 25 Feb. 2021
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'fly off the handle.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near fly off the handle
Cite this Entry
“Fly off the handle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fly%20off%20the%20handle. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.
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