go postal
/ˌɡoʊ ˈpoʊstəl/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.94 in modern English
11
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
2
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
verb
To become aggressive and erratic, especially due to stress; specifically, to carry out a shooting spree at a workplace environment; also (more generally) to become very angry; to lose one's temper.
American usage; Informal; Intransitive verb
Example Sentences
- "Violence that spills in from the streets may be less worrisome than the worker rampages, to judge by the attentive audience of personnel managers (and the consultants available for hire) at "A Growing American Phenomenon: Workplace Violence." The symposium was sponsored by the U.S. Postal Service, which has seen so many outbursts that in some circles excessive stress is known as "going postal." Thirty-five people have been killed in 11 post office shootings since 1983."
Etymology
From go (“to become”) + postal (“relating to the collection, sorting and delivery of mail”), from a number of incidents, mostly gun violence, perpetrated by disgruntled U.S. Postal Service workers on co-workers in the United States in the mid 1980s.
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˌɡoʊ ˈpoʊstəl/
- British English: /ˌɡəʊ ˈpəʊstl̩/
Usage
- American usage
- Informal
- Intransitive verb
Inflected Forms
Synonyms
run amok
crash out
Note: All terms are idiomatic unless stated otherwise.
blow a fuse
blow a gasket
blow one's stack
blow one's top
cut up nasty
cut up rough
do one's block
do one's nut
flip one's lid