Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

fly off the handle

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.45 in modern English

Syllables
fly- of-f the han-dle
IPA
34
Scrabble Score
15
Letters
4
Syllables
10
Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To become very angry or enraged; to throw a fit or go crazy.

Colloquial

Example Sentences

Etymology

From the image of an axe head becoming loose and suddenly flying free of its handle, a vivid metaphor for losing control. The phrase is an early 19th-century American idiom, with printed examples first appearing c. the 1810s–1830s.

Usage

Inflected Forms

flies off the handle (present, singular) flying off the handle (participle, present) flew off the handle (past) flown off the handle (participle, past)

Phrases

lose one's temper

Frequently Paired Words

lose one's temper

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 flip one's wig lose one's temper blow a fuse

Questions

What does fly off the handle mean?
To become very angry or enraged; to throw a fit or go crazy.
Where does fly off the handle come from?
From the image of an axe head becoming loose and suddenly flying free of its handle, a vivid metaphor for losing control. The phrase is an early 19th-century American idiom, with printed examples first appearing c. the 1810s–1830s.

How to pronounce fly off the handle

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “fly off the handle”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “fly off the handle”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “fly off the handle” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.