go ballistic
to become wildly angry
TRANSLATION
go ballistic = ausrasten, an die Decke gehen, aus der Haut fahren, durchdrehen (woerterbuch.info) --- GOOGLE INDEX go ballistic: approximately 250,000 hits
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
Then, returning from vacation in November, Mr Brown WENT BALLISTIC when he discovered the prime minister had rejected his second request for a seat on Labour's ruling national executive committee.
(The Guardian)
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"She WENT BALLISTIC on me. She lunged at me, she attacked me, pushed me and grabbed my computers and tossed them over the third-floor balcony."
(The Vancouver Province)
(The Guardian)
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"She WENT BALLISTIC on me. She lunged at me, she attacked me, pushed me and grabbed my computers and tossed them over the third-floor balcony."
(The Vancouver Province)
Did you
know?
go ballistic
slang
derived forms - went ballistic, gone ballistic, going ballistic, goes ballistic
- to become extremely angry
(Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary)
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WORD ORIGIN
Ballistic is from the Latin ballista, an ancient military machine for hurling stones, and the Greek ballistes (from ballizein, meaning to throw).
Ballistic was first used to describe high altitude missiles around 1954. Ballistic missiles are so called because as opposed to being guided during their entire flight, they are guided only during an initial brief period in order to reach a sub-orbital position. At this point, the missile's path is controlled by orbital mechanics and ballistics, which is the science of mechanics that deals with the motion, behaviour, and effects of projectiles.
The image of an object being quickly propelled to extreme heights is thus where we get the figure of speech "to go ballistic."
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SYNONYMS
flip one's lid, blow up, throw a fit, hit the roof, hit the ceiling, have kittens, have a fit, combust, blow one's stack, fly off the handle, flip one's wig, lose one's temper, blow a fuse
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ANTONYMS
calm down, cool off, chill out, ease up, get a grip, lighten up, loosen up, relax, simmer down
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SMUGGLE OWAD INTO A CONVERSATION TODAY
say something like:
"They'll go ballistic when they hear that the project is being delayed again!"
slang
derived forms - went ballistic, gone ballistic, going ballistic, goes ballistic
- to become extremely angry
(Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary)
---
WORD ORIGIN
Ballistic is from the Latin ballista, an ancient military machine for hurling stones, and the Greek ballistes (from ballizein, meaning to throw).
Ballistic was first used to describe high altitude missiles around 1954. Ballistic missiles are so called because as opposed to being guided during their entire flight, they are guided only during an initial brief period in order to reach a sub-orbital position. At this point, the missile's path is controlled by orbital mechanics and ballistics, which is the science of mechanics that deals with the motion, behaviour, and effects of projectiles.
The image of an object being quickly propelled to extreme heights is thus where we get the figure of speech "to go ballistic."
---
SYNONYMS
flip one's lid, blow up, throw a fit, hit the roof, hit the ceiling, have kittens, have a fit, combust, blow one's stack, fly off the handle, flip one's wig, lose one's temper, blow a fuse
---
ANTONYMS
calm down, cool off, chill out, ease up, get a grip, lighten up, loosen up, relax, simmer down
---
SMUGGLE OWAD INTO A CONVERSATION TODAY
say something like:
"They'll go ballistic when they hear that the project is being delayed again!"
